


Snow Colored Lens

by kimurasato



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-05-06
Packaged: 2018-01-22 00:04:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 80,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1568744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimurasato/pseuds/kimurasato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Danny Fenton, life in Amity Park was fairly average. He had two great friends, he had his own personal bully, and he was a photographer taking pictures for a local newspaper. Everything was normal. Then the ghosts showed up, and everything changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Someone asked me to write some Fenton/Phantom, so I wrote a little drabble. Then people wanted to see more of it, so I wrote a few more. Then people still wanted to see more, so I ended up writing the idea out as a fully length story.
> 
> In this story, Fenton and Phanom are separate individuals and always have been.

A noise came from below, and Danny paused with his spoon raised halfway to his mouth as his blue eyes drifted toward the door leading down into the basement. It was the same thing every day. He sat down to breakfast and listened to the sounds of his parents working in the basement. A big sign bordered with black and white slanted stripes and the words KEEP OUT written in giant bold lettering in the center was nailed to door that had a lock on the other side to keep him from entering while they were down there.

Danny sighed as he turned back to his breakfast, shoveling the spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. He hadn't the foggiest of ideas what his parents worked on all day in the basement. Jazz theorized on it for hours to him once, nearly putting him to sleep as she droned on and on, but they had no hard proof to support any of her ideas. All they knew was that their parents worked for the government, and what they were hired to do was so top secret that they weren't even allowed to tell their children. He could see his father desperately wanting to tell them about it. His eyes lit up with excitement, his mouth stretching into a grin that nearly split his face, before his expression fell with the realization that he couldn't talk about it. Those moments always killed Danny because he knew how much his father loved to blather on about virtually everything.

When he finished his breakfast, Danny carried his bowl over to the sink and gave it a quick washing. Then he grabbed his book bag from where he left it on the floor next to his chair at the table. Walking over the basement door, he knocked on it, not sure why he bothered since his parents probably couldn't hear him over the noise they were making.

"I'm off to school," Danny called down to them. "I'll see you at dinner." He didn't wait for a reply, instead walking out of the kitchen and down the hall to the front door. Some people might think that his parents were neglectful as they dedicated themselves to their work, but Danny knew they cared a great deal about him and his sister. Maybe they didn't spend hours with each other discussing every detail of their day, but they always sat down to dinner together and talked about various things. It was more like he talked about various things, since his parents usually remained in the basement all day and they couldn't talk about what they did there. But he knew if he ever really needed them for something, they would pull themselves away from their work to be there for him.

It was late March, and the weather was still chilly out as he stepped outside and locked the front door behind him. Right on time, he heard the honk of his friend's car. Danny jogged down the walk way, and with a grin, he hopped into the back seat. Sam sat in the driver's seat with Tucker sitting next to her. They were best friends ever since second grade after an incident that involved Tucker and Sam's lunch and vomit. They never told Sam about what really happened that day, and she still believed that Ricky Marsh was the one to vomited in her lunch.

"Did you take notes for me?" Danny asked as he leaned on the front seats.

"Yeah, yeah." Tucker reached into his book bag and pulled out a wrinkled sheet of paper with his notes from their math class scribbled all over it. He still wore his usual red beret that he had worn ever since they entered high school. He was a whiz with technology, and over the years, Danny saw him go through a variety of different versions of many different devices. In freshman year, his PDA was practically his baby. Now Tucker's love was with his touch screen cell phone with dozens of applications downloaded onto it. Danny was almost a little jealous since his phone was basically only good for calling people. Tucker's phone could play music and access the internet. There was even a mobile version of their old favorite game Doomed on it.

Danny gave it a glance over and hoped he would be able to understand it enough to finish his homework. "What was our assignment?"

"Page four fifty-seven, problems one through twenty-five." Tucker twisted around in his seat to face Danny as he stroke a hand over his chin. "Notice anything?"

Danny leaned in really close as he squinted his eyes. "Is that mole?" He scratched a finger over Tucker's jaw. "Oh, sorry. That was just a bit of chocolate." Tucker pouted, and beside him, Sam tried to hold back her snickering, to little success. "Dude, seriously, there's no visible hair there."

"That's what I told him, but he didn't listen to me." Sam reached over and slapped Tucker on the shoulder, ignoring his shout of pain. "Nice try growing the beard, baby cheeks." She still sported the Goth look that she was pretty much famous for, dressing in a pair of dark but not quite black jeans and a long sleeved black shirt. The black choker she wore had a small silver skull on it that got her many disapproving looks from their teachers, who apparently believed it meant she worshipped the devil or some such nonsense. Sam might read some pretty dark books, but Danny was fairly certain there was no devil worshipping involved. Their teachers, however, didn't appreciate it when Sam turned up on Halloween wearing vampire fangs.

"You two suck," Tucker grumbled, turning back around in his seat as he folded his arms, which gained him laughs from his friends.

Danny shook his head as he pulled out his math textbook and flipped it open to the assigned page. After folding up the sheet of notes, he scribbled down the problems that he needed to do once they reached school then closed the book to shove it back in his bag. His math class wasn't until the afternoon, which gave him his lunch period to rush through the homework.

"Man, I still can't believe Lancer lets you get away with skipping out of class," Tucker said.

"We talked it over at the beginning of sophomore year." Danny rolled his eyes. "I told him I wanted to take up photography, hopefully to get a job at a newspaper, and he said if I can still keep up with all my classes, he'd give me a pass to excuse my absences from class."

"So not fair. I call favoritism." Tucker was only joking, though Danny suspected there were plenty of other students in their class that thought it wasn't fair that he had a free pass out of class. A certain jock came to mind when he thought about it. "Do you think Lancer would give me a pass too if I said I wanted to do the same?" Tucker turned around again to face Danny, and he had a serious look in his green eyes.

"You'd probably ruin things for Danny if you did," Sam said as she tilted her head, ebony hair brushing over her shoulder. "Lancer might think that it was all an act so that Danny could skip out of class whenever he wanted if you're doing it too."

"Yeah, I'm lucky that Lancer is a big believer of supporting students to pursue their dreams," Danny said, reaching around the passenger seat's headrest to give Tucker a small punch on the shoulder. "If it was up to only Principal Ishiyama, I'd probably never get to leave in the middle of school to take shots for the newspaper." He got lucky when he stumbled onto the scene of a car accident and took some shots that the newspaper actually decided to use and pay him for them. After a meeting with the editor-in-chief, Mr. Carmichael agreed to sign him on as a free lance photographer for The Amity Park Herald, but Danny only got paid for the pictures they actually used. Mr. Carmichael had Danny's cell phone number so that he could contact him at any time when a news story broke and they needed a photographer to grab some shots.

When they arrived at school, Sam found a spot in the parking lot close to the entrance of the school. They all grabbed their things and headed into the building together. Their lockers were all next to each other, but unfortunately, to get to their lockers, they usually had to pass by the dreaded A list section of the lockers. He tried to avoid being seen as much as possible, but Dash had some sort of Fenton radar that allowed him to lock in on Danny's location even when he was ducking behind his friends. Sometimes being tall and lanky really didn't work for him.

"Hey, Fentall!"

Danny groaned internally when he heard that all too familiar voice. He paused and turned around to see Dash standing with one foot up against the locker. "You can't possibly have a reason to want to beat me up already," he said, trying to sound brave, though he could hear a slight crack in his voice. His gaze drifted from the beefy blond jock to the woman standing beside him.

Paulina was probably the prettiest woman with long, glossy ebony hair and emerald eyes in the whole school. Danny had a crush on her back in freshman year, but after an incident in which she went out of her way to embarrass Sam before the whole school, his feelings toward her had basically fallen into the negative. Currently, she was too busy filing her nails, sharpening her claws Sam would probably say, to pay any attention to what her boyfriend was doing.

"Since when do I need a reason to pound on a dweeb?" Dash laughed as he pushed away from the lockers. "But since you bring it up," he said, cracking his knuckles as he stepped up to Danny.

"Why don't you just leave him alone?" Tucker asked, though he stayed back. Danny couldn't blame him since his own legs felt like they were slowly melting into the goo with Dash standing right before him.

"Don't you have better things to do?" Sam demanded, placing his hands on her hips as she narrowed her violet eyes at him. "Like, I don't know, scratching you butt with the other gorillas?"

Dash's hand latched out faster than Danny could react, seizing hold of the green hooded sweatshirt that he wore and twisting his grasp on it as he dragged Danny closer to him. "You let your girlfriend talk to me like that?" He held his face inches away from Danny, who could smell the sausage on his breath from breakfast.

"Firstly, Sam is my friend who is a girl. Not my girlfriend. Second, ever hear of breath mints?" Danny wheezed, waving a hand before his nose as sweat trickled down the back of his neck.

"What was that, Fenturd?" Dash yanked Danny another step closer with a growl in his voice.

Danny swallowed thickly, wondering why he even opened his mouth sometimes. Talking always landed him into more trouble when it came to Dash. "Isn't this a little crazy?" Or maybe Danny, himself, was crazy for trying to talk to Dash in some civilized manner. "I mean, what did I ever do to you that made you want to kick my ass every week?"

"At least my parents don't completely ignore my existence." Dash smirked as if the comment gained him some sort of victory.

"Where is that even coming from?" Confusion replaced his fear of the jock. Danny's brow creased as he tried follow the strange jock logic, but he failed to make the connection. The comment had little impact since Danny knew his parents weren't ignoring his existence. If he thought that would make Danny break down and cry, Dash was losing his touch.

"Dash! Check it out!" said another jock, dashing over to them and holding up his hand that contained what looked like two tickets.

"No way, man!" Dash immediately dropped his hold on Danny to walk over to his friend. "You got the tickets to the Dumpty Humpty concert?"

"Did you think I would leaving you hanging?" He grinned widely as his friend took his ticket and examined it like he couldn't believe it was real. Kwan was probably the nicest of all the jocks, and Danny sometimes didn't understand why Kwan would ever hang out with someone like Dash when he didn't seem to like the whole bullying side of being a jock. But the pair had been best friends for as long Danny knew them.

"Only two tickets?" Paulina questioned as she joined, lifting a delicate eyebrow with a frown of disapproval. "What about me?"

"Oh," Kwan mumbled, his excitement fading quickly away. "My father would only buy two tickets."

"So I don't get to go?" Paulina folded her arms, anger flashing in her eyes.

"I tried to get my dad to buy another ticket." Kwan rubbed at the back of his neck with his aqua green eyes cast to the floor. "But he said they were too expensive to buy three of them."

"Maybe you can ask your dad to buy a ticket," Dash suggested as he tucked his own ticket into pocket. "You can usually get your dad to buy you anything."

Danny turned away from the A list members, grabbing hold of his friends' arms as he hurried toward their lockers while Dash was distracted. That was probably the best thing about Kwan's relationship with Dash. Danny lost count of how many times Kwan swooped in to save him from a potential beating.

"See you guys later," Danny said, waving to his friends after they finished getting their things from their lockers. They all had different first period classes, but Danny shared several of his other classes with them. He walked through the crowded halls, sticking to the walls until he reached his first class and collapsed into his seat.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny sank down as best he could in his seat as Lancer's green eyes narrowed in his direction before turning on the other two men in turn. That was another problem with his height. When he slouched, his legs tended to stick out a great distance, and he wound up tripping other people by accident. Being dragged into the vice principal's office was not exactly how he wanted to spend his lunch break, but he didn't exactly enjoy the prospect of slaving away over math problems either. He only had about four problems left to solve before everything went to hell.

"Anyone care to explain what started this?" Lancer questioned after the silence had dragged out for several minutes.

Danny didn't even dare to look at the other two men nor did he voice his side of how things went earlier in the cafeteria. He was already in enough trouble with the jocks, and he hadn't even _done_ anything to them. Throwing all the blame onto the jocks would only land him with bigger problems than what Lancer had in mind for them.

"The loser started it."

Danny rolled his blue eyes at the jock's gruff voice. Sometimes he wondered how the jock stayed in school when he didn't seem to have more than two brain cells to rub together. The very idea of even attempting to voice such a comment, however, made his throat constrict and his mouth feel uncomfortable dry. A comment like that was sure to send him on a one way trip to the hospital, if not the morgue.

Lancer sighed, and Danny could tell from that simple exhale that he didn't buy what the jock said. That was the thing about knowing his teacher pretty well: he could judge what was going on in the man's mind from minor expressions. Bullying was something that happened in every school, some more than others, but Lancer wasn't completely ignorant to what the jocks did. Some teachers, though, were happy to pretend bullying didn't happen if it meant their sports teams would be able to make into the championships. Danny ground his teeth in anger over the unfair special treatment toward jocks.

A ringtone interrupted the stare down between the jocks and Lancer. Danny jerked up in his seat as he dug into his pocket to grab his cell phone.

"Don't answer that," Lancer ordered firmly, pointing a finger at Danny as he turned his glare onto his student.

"But-" Danny started, knowing who would be calling him. The only one with his cell phone number that would dare to call in the middle of school was Mr. Carmichael needing him to report to the scene of a story to take some pictures for the newspaper.

"No, Mr. Fenton, you will not answer that phone," Lancer said evenly as he laced his fingers over the desk. Danny gulped at the severe frown on his teacher's face and left his phone be. After a few more rings, the cell phone fell silent. "I've allowed you to leave school in the middle of class because I believe in supporting your desire to get some work experience in a profession that interests you. However, I can't allow you to leave school when I have to punish you."

"But-" Danny tried again but was silenced when Lancer cut off his protest.

"Did you participate in the fight?" Lancer questioned seriously.

Danny slumped back in his seat. He didn't have to glance the jocks' way to know at least one of them was snickering. "Yes," he answered reluctantly, glaring off to the side of Lancer's desk.

"The who started it is fairly irrelevant as all three of you shall be punished for fighting," Lancer said, glaring at each man seated before him. "But I would like to know what started this fight?"

Danny ground his teeth so hard he thought they started to crack under the pressure. Why should he be punished for defending himself? Not that he did a very good job if the bruised ribs were any indication. But he guessed Lancer couldn't simply overlook that Danny had thrown quite a few punches too, as little good as that did him.

"I hope one of you will give me an answer, or you're punishment might become more than one afternoon of cleaning up the kitchens." Lancer's mouth pursed unpleasantly when he didn't receive an answer like he wanted. "I have been, perhaps, a bit too lenient in my hopes that the three of you would somehow resolve your differences without my interference, but it seems that the three of you won't get anywhere unless I force the topic. Now what started all of this?"

"Calvin threw a football," Dash explained, and Danny snapped his head around to gape at the jock. "Don't even start, Calvin." Dash ignored Danny to sneer at his teammate. "We'll be sitting here all day if we don't answer." He turned his attention back to Lancer. "Calvin threw the football, and it hit Fenton's lunch. That's what started the fight."

"I see." Lancer glanced Danny's way, noting the globs of ketchup and mustard over Danny's clothing and the bits of lettuce in his raven hair. "And how many times have I asked you not to throw the football within the school?" Lancer landed a cold glare on Calvin.

"Once or twice, maybe," Calvin answered, shrugging as he looked away.

Lancer stared flatly. He had told the jock far more than a few times about not throwing the football while in school. "This would be one of the reasons I've asked you to stop throwing the ball in school. Now, I hope the three of you can get along for the remainder of the school year. If I find any of you causing trouble on school grounds, I will expel you." He narrowed his green eyes as he pointed at all of them, but Danny thought he held his gaze on Calvin the longest. "Now, hurry off to your classes." He dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

Danny lingered back, watching the two jocks leave the office before he turned to Lancer. "Sir, can't I do this punishment another day? There's a story, and my boss needs me there to take pictures."

"And then another story comes up. And another. And another." Lancer stared at Danny, holding his gaze. "Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Yeah," Danny said with a sigh of defeat as his shoulders slumped. Unfortunately, he knew exactly the point Lancer was trying to make.

"I'm very proud that you're so dedicated to your photography career as well as your school work. Unfortunately, I can't allow you to skip out on punishment because of a job. That would hardly be fair."

"They attacked me!" Danny argued, mostly out of frustration because it was infuriating to be the constant target of bullying.

"And it's greatly unfortunate that I have to punish you as well." Lancer sighed tiredly, looking more exhausted than Danny had ever seen him. "But as you _did_ strike at Calvin in retaliation, as well deserved as it may be, my hand is forced, and I must include you in the punishment as a participant of the fight."

"I did the crime. I should do the time." Danny sighed as he headed for the door of the office.

"I do regret that you have to be partied to the punishment," Lancer said, and Danny nodded before he left to head to his next class.

Folding his arms, Danny could only think of the unfairness of it all as he headed down the hall. He was being punished for defending himself, though he hardly did a good job of it. He expected to find dark bruises on his body when he looked in the mirror, but Dash and Calvin only sported the hint of bruising on their faces from where Danny managed to land a hit. He did, however, know the school rules. Regardless of whom started the fight, all members that actively participated in the fight would receive punishment. He knew he should feel lucky that Lancer was nice enough not to expel them all for fighting. But knowing and understanding that rule didn't stop bitterness curling inside him. Some of that melted away when he reminded himself that the jocks weren't getting off because of special treatment. Calvin and Dash were stuck with the punishment too, and that fact made him feel a little better.

His remaining classes felt unbearably long with the knowledge of his punishment looming ever closer. He had to turn in his math homework incomplete, but at least he had most of the problems solved. After math class, he explained the whole conversation with Lancer to Tucker, who agreed with him that it was unfair that he was getting punished too. Danny shrugged in response, knowing complaining about it really wouldn't change anything.

When school ended, Danny bid goodbye to his friends before reporting to the cafeteria kitchens for his punishment with the jocks. Dash didn't look happy about the punishment, but he basically ignored Danny when he entered. Calvin, on the other hand, sneered viciously when his gaze landed on Danny.

"You'll be free to go when all the pots and pans are clean," Lancer informed them, arms folded over his rounded belly. "I don't want to hear a peep of noise coming from in here. You three start up another fight, and you just might be facing expulsion." He narrowed his eyes then left the three of them alone in the kitchens.

"I can't believe you got us into this," Calvin muttered, ramming a shoulder into Danny as he passed.

Danny ignored him and got to work scrubbing a pot clean that he was certain he didn't want to know what was cooked in it. He wanted to get everything cleaned up quickly so that he could go home and get away from the jocks that hated him. Behind him, he heard sloshing and banging of metal against metal as the jocks worked. The longer they cleaned the pots and pans, the more endless the chore began to feel to Danny. Every time he finished one pot or pan, it seemed like ten more took its place.

They must have worked for at least an hour before trouble started. Danny felt fingers in his hair, tangling in the raven locks, but he didn't react fast enough to that sudden hold on him. A yelp barely managed to escape him before his face plunged forward into the basin of dirty dish water. Danny struggled to push himself upright and out of the water, but the jock was far stronger than he was. It was like trying to move a mountain. His lungs started to burn for air, and he was pretty certain his flailing around wasn't helping him do much more than spill the water all over the floor and soak his clothes.

Then suddenly the force holding down disappeared, and Danny was able to yank his head free of the water. He sank to his knees, coughing and gasping in greedy mouthfuls of air as his dark locks stuck to his face.

"Stop it," Dash said firmly, and when he lifted his head, Danny saw the blond jock glaring at his teammate.

"What, now you're taking _his_ side?" Calvin growled as he thrust a finger in Danny's direction.

"Perhaps you don't give a shit because your only pleasure in life is kicking the asses of losers, but _I_ happen to want to go to college." Dash shoved Calvin back a few steps. "I'm not going to let _you_ screw that up for me by _killing_ someone."

"This is Kwan's influence, isn't it?" Calvin snarled when he said the name, drawing back his lips like a beast ready to snap his fangs at them.

"Leave Kwan out of this." Dash's fists clenched tightly at his sides. "Just get back to washing so we can get the hell out of here."

Calvin looked like he wanted to argue, but he ended up deciding against it. He turned away from the other two men and returned to his corner where he worked on scrubbing grime from a pan.

"Um," Danny mumbled, not really sure what to say as he climbed back to his feet. Dash was usually the one joining in on bully him, not the one jumping in to stop some form of bullying.

"Look, Fentwad," Dash said as he turned around and jabbed a finger into Danny's chest. "I didn't stop him as some favor to you. I just don't want to be here any longer than necessary or end up getting expelled." He stepped in close, and with his legs still feeling a touch weak, Danny gulped nervously and hoped his legs weren't shaking too much. "Or worse, ending up in prison because that ass," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate Calvin, "decided to drag me down with him for drowning you. I might take my aggressions out on you, but I don't have any intention of _killing_ you."

"Um, well, thanks," Danny said, still finding the whole situation strange. He swallowed under the glower on Dash's face. "For stopping Calvin." He tugged nervously at the damp cuff of one sleeve. "You didn't have to step in, but you did anyway."

"Oh, don't get mushy and shit." Dash wrinkled his nose. "I was just saving my own skin. Although," a smirk slipped onto his face as he folded his arms over his chest, "I suppose this means you owe me."

The color started draining from his face. "What did you have in mind?" Danny doubted he would like anything that Dash might want from him.

"Well," Dash's mouth pursed in thought for a moment, "I did always like your sister."

Danny frowned at him. "I can tell one thing right now. No matter how many good words I put in for you, she is never going to agree to a date if you continue to harass me." He leaned back on the sink basin. "She's awfully protective of me, and if you want to get in good with her, then you at least have to treat me like I'm invisible. I'm not saying you have to be nice and we have to be all buddy-buddy, but you can't use me like a punching bag anymore."

Dash stared, his jaw clenched tightly. "I'll think about it." Then he turned away and returned to his own section of pots and pans to wash.

Danny breathed out a long sigh, feeling like his whole body deflated with that breath. If that suggestion worked and Dash lightened up on his bullying, then Danny only had to worry about avoiding Calvin, who seemed to need no excuse other than the fact that Danny was breathing to bully him. Danny turned back to the sink and picked up the pot he was cleaning before Calvin attacked him.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny sighed tiredly as he pushed open the door to his house. He was cold and tired and ached all over, his soaked clothing feeling heavy as it clung to his body. It was times like this that he was happy that his parents were so busy working in the basement. Before Jazz went off to college, her constant mothering over him when he returned home sporting bruises drove him crazy sometimes. He knew it was simply because she cared a great deal about him and hated to see him being the target of bullying at school. He never had to say anything for her to know who the bullies were. Dash wasn't exactly the person he wanted to see his sister dating, but if the jock could change his way to become a better person, maybe that wouldn't be so bad, if Jazz decided to agree to a date sometime.

After shutting the door, Danny dragged himself upstairs and down the hall to his bedroom where he dumped his book bag by his desk. Then he headed into the bathroom and got his first real look at himself since lunch. A bruise already formed below his left eye where Calvin's fist grazed his face. He was pretty sure it was Calvin that threw that punch, though it was hard to tell with the chaos of being trapped between the two jocks. With a sigh, he pushed away from the sink and grabbed the hem of his hooded sweatshirt and the shirt beneath it. A hiss escaped him as he yanked off his clothes and dumped the wet items onto the floor with a splat. His pale flesh was peppered with bruises, some lighter than others where the punches weren't as strong. He cringed at the sight of them, guessing in his head how long it would take each of them to fade away.

He finished removing his clothes then stepped into the shower. When he turned on the shower, the cold jet of water made him jump and shiver. He twisted the knob to the hot side, and the water gradually grew warmer. Standing under the warm spray, he exhaled happily at the feel of heat against chilly, sore muscles. After a while, he got to work washing his hair and scrubbing his body clean of any lingering smell from being shoved into the sink of dirty dish water. When he was clean, he stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel to dry himself off. Taking out the first aid kit from under the sink, he retrieved a roll of bandages and wrapped them around his chest to help with the bruised ribs he knew he likely had.

When he was done, Danny replaced the first aid kit then scooped up his clothes in his arms. He padded out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped about his waist and down the hall to his bedroom. Dirty clothes and towel went into the laundry basket. Then Danny grabbed whatever his hand found first from his closet to wear. Once he was dressed, he left his room and walked back downstairs. After what felt like an endlessly long day, Danny only wanted to sit back with his feet up and relax for the rest of the night, but he still had his homework to finish. It would be so easy, and was very tempting, to slack off and ignore his homework for the night, but he knew doing that would give Lancer reason to end their little arrangement of allowing him to skip out of school to take pictures for news stories.

Mr. Carmichael was very displeased when Danny called him up on his way home from school. Danny was tempted to give the man a call after his meeting with Lancer during lunch, but he thought it better to wait in case talking on the phone caused him to get into even more trouble. As angry as he was, Mr. Carmichael understood the reasons for why Danny couldn't make it to the scene of the story, once Danny explained it all to him. Danny promised that it would never happen again, but that really depended on how well he could avoid drawing Calvin's attention to him. He hadn't done very well through his four years at Casper High of staying off the bullies' radar.

Danny entered the kitchen to grab a snack to eat while working on his homework before dinner. But he halted in the doorway, blinking blue eyes in surprise. "Uh, do I want to know what's going on?" Danny cringed, halfway ready to make a run for it if his parents started talking gross. He really didn't expect to come home and find his parents in the kitchen wearing bathrobes instead of their usual jumpsuits.

"Oh, Danny! You're home." His mother turned a smile to him before it fell. She hurriedly got up from her chair at the table and rushed over to him. "What happened?" she asked in concern, her violet eyes wide with horror as she examined the bruise on his cheek.

"It's fine," Danny assured. "Just a little accident at school, but nothing to be concerned about." He smiled at her, hoping that would calm her worries. He knew his parents would be outraged if he ever told them about the bullying he suffered since freshmen year, but that was the reason he didn't tell them. He didn't want them worrying about him every time he left the house to go to school, fearing that the bullies would hurt him even more than before. He didn't want them rushing off to school to have a word with the principal and perhaps draw even more of the bullies' attention onto him. They treated him badly enough already. How would they treat him if they thought he was a tattletale rat crying to his parents for help like a baby?

His mother frowned with concern as she threaded her fingers through his raven hair. "If you say so." Her brows knitted, and her violet eyes said she didn't quite believe him.

"Did you at least give them a good shiner in return?" his father questioned. "You know your mother's a ninth degree black belt." He grinned proudly to his wife.

"Jack!" She turned around with her hands on her hips as she frowned severely at her husband. "We are not encouraging him to act violently at school."

His father ducked his head, looking properly shamed by the scolding. "I just thought if someone attacked him, he should at least defend himself."

His mother turned her gaze back on him, her eyes immediately drawing to the bruise. "It might not be such a bad idea to teach you a few things about defending yourself." Her mouth pursed as if she wasn't entirely pleased with the thought that her son _needed_ to learn how to defend himself because someone was hurting him.

"It's not that bad," Danny said and tried not to show that he was injured elsewhere as he walked toward the refrigerator. "Ninth degree black belt?" His eyebrows rose as he glanced back at his mother. "Why is this the first I'm hearing of it?" He opened the refrigerator door and looked over what they had.

"There's a lot about our past that you don't know about," his mother said, and Danny glanced over in time to catch the grinning look that his parents shared.

"And I think I'm glad for that." Danny shuddered and he grabbed a yogurt from the refrigerator. "And I'm probably going to regret this." He walked over to the drawers where they kept the spoons. "But what's with the bathrobes? And you usually stay down in the basement for another couple of hours before coming out to make dinner." He lifted a curious eyebrow at his parents as he yanked off the cap of the yogurt.

"You should see it, Danny!" his father said, dark blue eyes lighting up in that usual way when he had something exciting to blather on about. "It's a real beauty!"

"That we can't talk about," his mother cut in, and his father's shoulders sagged, the light dimming in his eyes as he frowned. It was always so crushing to see that reaction from his father. "We finally finished work on our latest project. There was a minor," she squeezed index finger toward thumb, "accident that resulted in us having to incinerate our jumpsuits and hop into a biohazard shower. But other than that, it's working like a charm." She smiled proudly.

Danny nearly choked on the spoonful of yogurt. "Biohazard?" He gaped at his parents. "Should we be worried? Like about radiation or something?"

"Nonsense!" his father said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Right?" He glanced toward his wife, looking for reassurance.

"Of course." His mother walked back over to the table and hugged her arms around her husband's neck as she kissed him on the cheek. "We ran checks to make sure nothing harmful leaked out after the accident. We're perfectly safe."

"Good. Because I think you'd have to do some explaining if I suddenly grew a second head." Danny scooped out the last of the yogurt and tossed the container in the trash.

"You wouldn't grow a second head." His father laughed. "Well, not fully, probably." He tilted his head thoughtfully as he considered it.

"So other than that little incident," his mother tapped at her cheek just below her eye to indicate the bruise on Danny's face, "how was school?"

"Same old, same old." Danny shrugged and rinsed off the spoon before putting it in the dishwasher. "Nothing really exciting happened today." He couldn't tell his parents about getting in trouble for fighting then nearly getting drowned by Calvin. They already looked worried enough over a small bruise. "I've got some homework to start on."

"Okay." His mother smiled kindly. "Well, since we're done with work for today, I guess we can have dinner a bit earlier than usual. We'll call you down when it's ready."

"Okay." Danny nodded then headed back upstairs to his bedroom. Once he sat down at his desk, he booted up his computer then started getting out the books he needed for his homework. When he pulled out his math textbook, Danny made a face at it then set it off to the side of his desk. Math, though it would probably take him the longest, could wait until he finished everything else.

"If you keep making faces like that, it might get stuck that way."

"Jazz!" Danny turned fully toward the computer, smiling at the video chat window that had popped up on the screen.

His sister leaned toward the computer, and her aqua colored eyes narrowed, scrutinizing his image on her screen. "Is that a bruise?" She frowned severely at him.

"It's nothing." Danny laughed, though he knew his sister, more than his parents, wouldn't buy the lie. "How's college life treating you?"

"Don' you try changing the topic with me!" Jazz said, wagging a finger at the computer in full worried mother hen mode. "Dash did that to you, didn't he?" Her mouth pursed as anger stormed in her eyes. "Oh! When I see him next time!"

"Jazz! It's okay." Danny sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "I'm pretty sure this," he gestured to the bruise, "was courtesy of Calvin Williams." He grinned as he leaned on desk. "But thanks to a little crush on you, I might have been able to convince Dash to lay off bullying me."

"Well, I'm glad something good could come from that." Jazz wore a sour expression. "But if he thinks that alone will make me agree to go out with him, he's sadly mistaken."

"But it could be the start of Dash growing out of being a bully." Danny pulled his history book toward him and flipped it open to the chapter he was supposed to read for tomorrow. "But seriously, how is college?"

"Sometimes, it feels a lot like being back in high school." Jazz sighed, leaning her head in one hand. "I thought people would be more mature at college, but there's a lot of crazy partiers here that don't seem to care all that much about their education."

"Well, that's something to look forward to," Danny said dryly.

"It's not all bad though. I've made some really great friends here."

"Now, Jazz." Danny gave her a stern stare. "Don't allow them to pressure you into doing anything crazy like getting a tattoo or something." He grabbed at the computer monitor, his eyes growing wide. "You didn't get a tattoo, right?"

Jazz laughed. "Of course not, Danny!" They both laughed, and it took a few minutes before they both recovered. "So how are things with Mom and Dad?"

"Ah, you know," Danny shrugged, "the same as always. They stay holed up in the basement all day working on stuff they can't talk about."

"They aren't causing too much trouble for you, are they?" Jazz frowned with concern.

Danny shook his head. "No, of course not. And they aren't causing some sort of long term psychological problems that will need a lifetime of therapy to work out. I swear you worry far too much."

"I can't help it. I know you haven't had it easy with bullies."

"I perfectly fine, Jazz. There's nothing happening that I can't handle." Danny shuddered and turned his gaze away from the computer. He glanced all about his room but saw nothing unusual or out of place.

"What's wrong?"

Danny wiped the frown from his face as he turned back around in his chair. "Ah, nothing. I just thought I heard something."

"And the shiver?" Jazz raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.

"It was cold! People shiver when they feel a chill, you know. It's not some sort of psychological indicator of a deeper problem." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Anyway, I should probably focus on my homework now."

Jazz sighed. "Yeah, I should get back to studying as well. I'll try to call you again soon. Bye, Danny."

"Bye, Jazz." Danny closed the window on the computer screen. Then he got up and walked over to the window of his bedroom. His room was luckily on the side along the street which allowed him a better view of the night sky. He didn't see anything different as his gaze swept around the street then up to the sky to stare at the stars. Their house was well heated. So why did he feel a sudden chill just then? Danny scratched at his head as he returned to his desk to do his homework.


	4. Chapter 4

Waking up the next morning, his chest felt sore from the abuse it suffered yesterday at lunch. Some of the bruises faded, but the majority remained dark and ugly. Danny dressed quickly and grabbed his book bag from where it hung off his chair. When he reached the kitchen to grab his breakfast, he raised his eyebrows when he saw his mother serving up a plate of pancakes while his father got out the syrup.

"You're not in the basement?" Danny asked with some surprise as he took his seat at the table.

"Well, since we finished up our latest project yesterday," his father said, joining his son. "So we decided to take a little break and start work a little later than usual today."

Danny nodded as his mother sat down, placing the plate with a large stack of pancakes in the center of the table. "It's good to take breaks. You wouldn't want to overwork yourself, now would you?"

"Quite right," his mother said and took a sip from her glass of water. "But don't think you can use that excuse to slack off and not do your homework." She gave him a stern stare that she used when she meant business.

"I couldn't slack off even if I wanted to." Danny piled some pancakes onto his plate with a grin. He usually felt too lazy in the morning to make anything like pancakes and normally only fixed up a bowl of cereal or oatmeal or occasionally made eggs. "If I don't keep my grades up, Lancer won't allow me to keep up with my job taking pictures for the newspaper."

"That's my boy!" His father gave him a slap on the back, and Danny nearly spilled his water. "Such a go getter! You want to do something, and you get out there and find a way to make it happen. Now if only you took some interest in our work." He frowned, almost pouting.

"Which would be easier if I had any idea what kind of work you did." Danny reached over and patted his father on the shoulder. "I bet it's really fascinating." His father's dark blue eyes lit up with the exciting prospect of talking about whatever they worked on in the basement.

"And yet, we can't talk about it." His mother's stern look turned on her husband, who sighed in disappointment.

Danny frowned as he chewed on a mouthful of pancakes. After he swallowed, he said, "Sometimes, it really sucks that you work for the government. Just," he shrugged, "it would be nice sometimes to hear about what you work on." He frowned as he pushed around the last few bites of his breakfast. "Sometimes people think that because you work so much, you don't care about Jazz and me."

"You know we love though, right?" His mother frowned with worry as she reached across the table to take hold of his hand and squeeze it. His father rested a hand on his shoulder with the same concerned expression on his face.

"Of course." Danny smiled reassuringly at his parents. "It just gets kind of frustrating to hear those comments from the other kids at school. But they don't know anything about our family. You've always been great parents to Jazz and me." He heard a honk from outside. "And that's my ride." He got up from the table and grabbed his book bag. "I'll see you after school." He hugged his father then walked over to give his mother a kiss on the cheek before he hurried to the front door and exited the house. He felt a little guilty even bringing that up to his parents, knowing it probably hurt them and made them feel like he thought they weren't being good parents, but there was a small sense of relief to actually speak up about that frustration.

"How are you today?" Sam asked, frowning at her friend as Danny hopped into the back seat of her car.

"A bit sore," Danny said and rubbed at his chest. "But it's not like I haven't taken a beating before." He shrugged.

"That doesn't make it right." Sam glowered as she pulled the car away from the curb and headed off to school. "Bullies shouldn't be allowed to get away with that."

"They got punished right alongside me, so I can't be too angry." Danny leaned back against his seat. "Not that I'm not angry, because I am. But Lancer really didn't have a choice. I fought back, so he had to include me in the punishment."

"It just sucks though." Sam's hands tightened around the steering wheel.

"You're not going to do something crazy, are you?" Tucker asked, frowning at her with a hint of worry sneaking into his green eyes. "Like start up some crazy campaign to get the school rules changed or something?"

"Why is that crazy?" Sam snapped her head around to glare at him. "Why should victims of bullying be punished if they fight back to defend themselves?"

"Sam, it's a nice idea, but the rule is there to try to stop violence in school," Danny said, raking a hand through his hair. "We're lucky that we weren't just kicked right out of school. And that fight never would have started if it wasn't for Calvin anyway. Heaven forbid I drop their stupid football on the floor and refuse to pick it up after he threw it at me, on purpose, and got my lunch all over me." He rolled bright blue eyes, feeling frustration rising inside him. "Anyway, getting the rule changed won't fix anything. If you want things to change, you need to figure out a way to stop the bullying."

"Oh, and how do I do that?" Sam snapped her gaze to the rearview mirror, glaring at him through it. "Should I go play nice with Paulina?"

"To be fair, it couldn't hurt." Danny winced as those violet eyes narrowed in the reflection of the mirror. "I'm just saying that if we could somehow get the A list to be nice to everyone, bullying would decrease."

"That's far too idealistic, Danny." Sam shook her head.

"I have to agree with Sam on this one," Tucker said with some reluctance. "There's no way the A list will ever start being nice to everyone."

Danny sighed. "Yeah, but it's a nice thought though." He was still holding out on the hope that his talk with Dash yesterday might improve their relationship, at least in the sense that Dash wouldn't bully him as much.

When they arrived at school, they climbed out of Sam's car and headed into the building. Danny swallowed nervously as they neared the A list section of the hall, fearing that Dash would decide to stick to his bullying ways. But they passed without harassment, and when Danny glanced toward the three friends, he saw that Dash didn't even bother to look his way. He smiled a little to himself as he returned his focus to his friends. Maybe things were starting to take a turn for the better, as long as he steered clear of Calvin. After grabbing a book from his locker, he waved goodbye to his friends and headed off to his first class.

Danny was glad he didn't have a class with Calvin as it allowed to stay focused on what the teacher was saying without constantly throwing worried looks around the room to see if the jock was waiting for a chance to beat him up. He sighed tiredly then shuddered as he remembered yesterday during his punishment in which Calvin tried to drown him in dirty dish water. But the memory wasn't the only reason he shuddered. A wave of coldness washed through the room, and he noticed that the other students reacted similarly. He turned his head toward the door of the classroom as the sound of faint giggling caught his ear.

The sound of a ruler slapping against the blackboard jerked everyone's attention back to the front of the class where their teacher stared down her long, hooked nose at them. "Perhaps I should give a pop quiz to see just how many of your were paying attention to today's lesson," she said with a scowling frown as her green eyes narrowed at them, snapping around the room. Every student shook his or her head in response, and their teacher wrinkled her nose before she continued with her lecture.

Danny tried to return his attention to his homework, but his mind kept wandering back to what just happened. He, and everyone else apparently, felt a chill. It was the same as last night. No windows in the room were open, and the school was at a reasonably warm temperature, and the room had no drafts. Why did it feel like the temperature had dropped at least ten degrees? His blue eyes drifted over toward the door to the classroom. And why did he hear that laughter? His brow creased as he turned it over in his mind, but he couldn't come up with any answers.

Shaking the thought from his head, Danny forced his attention back onto what the teacher was saying. He couldn't allow for distractions if he wanted to maintain his grades. When lunched rolled around, he was happy to get out of class and filed out with the rest of his classmates.

"You seemed a bit distracted," Sam said, lifting an eyebrow at him as they walked down the hall with each other.

Danny shook his head. "You didn't feel any weird chills today, did you?" He glanced at her with a worried furrowing of his brow, but Sam merely stared back at him in confusion. "There was this weird moment when-" He shivered like an ice cube was suddenly dropped down his shirt.

"Like that?" Sam hugged her arms about her body as she rubbed at her arms despite the long sleeved shirt she wore.

"Yeah." Danny nodded and glanced about the hall, his ears alert for that laughter he heard the last time. Then he heard it again, faintly in the distance. "I'll catch up with you later!"

"Wait! Danny!"

But Danny jogged down the hall, ignoring Sam's calls as he followed after the sound. He weaved his way through the crowd of students heading for the cafeteria. Turning down another hall, he managed to break away from the sea of students. He glanced back to see the tail end of the students disappearing around the corner before the giggling drew his attention to the other end of the hall. He took a few steps down the hall then paused.

It was faint at first, the woman with silvery blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail with the ends neatly twisted and her flesh had an icy blue hue to it. She laughed as she twirled about the hall with the skirt of her Casper High cheerleading uniform flaring up with the movement. But the uniform didn't match the ones they had. It looked decades old. Her whole appearance made her look out of place as if she was yanked forward from the past. When she spun his way, Danny caught a flash of red eyes. For several long moments, he could only stand there watching, shivering lightly in the chilly hall and barely noticing the way his breath appeared in a puff of white with each exhale.

Then he fumbled around in his book bag, searching for his camera. He barely managed to get it out and snap a photograph before the woman simply vanished from sight. Warmth slowly returned to hall, and Danny blinked several times at where the woman was last seen. Then he dropped his gaze to his camera. Did he actually manage to capture a picture of her?

"There you are!" Sam said when she finally caught up to him. "What happened back there?"

Danny turned around hesitantly to see his friends standing behind him with concerned looks on their faces. "Guys," he said with a massive amounts of uncertainty about whether or not he should even mention it to them, "I think I just saw a ghost." He knew the only way _anyone_ would believe him was if he actually caught the picture of her, assuming that ghosts could even be photographed. He didn't often watch shows with people that investigated the paranormal, but the few times he caught a show like that on television, their pictures were always fuzzy and never anything clear. He would probably be lucky if he merely caught a blur of something misty on film.

"Dude, ghosts aren't real," Tucker said, concern still in his green eyes. "Did you stay up late watching horror movies again?"

"No, I stayed up doing my homework." Danny glanced down at his camera. As soon as developed the roll, he would show them the picture. Though if nothing turned up on the picture, it would only serve to make him look crazy. "She was right there." He pointed down the hall at where the woman was. "I could see right through her!"

"Right, Danny," Sam said, nodding her head, but there was disbelief in her eyes. "Maybe you just _thought_ you saw a ghost. Maybe you just need to get some more sleep at night."

"I'm not crazy," Danny said flatly, frowning at his friends. "And I'll show you. I'll go straight to the dark room and develop this film." He held up his camera then headed down the hall and toward where the school had a dark room for photography class and yearbook pictures purposes. "You two can go head to lunch. I shouldn't be too long."

"We never said you were crazy," Tucker protested as he and Sam hurried to walk with him through the halls.

"You didn't have to _say_ it." Danny's mouth thinned as frustration rolled over him. He knew exactly what he saw, but no one else was there to see it too. It didn't come as a surprise at all that his friends wouldn't believe him when he said he saw a ghost. Before a moment ago, he certainly wouldn't believe anyone else if they said that they saw one.

When they arrived at the dark room, Danny went into it alone and got to work developing the roll of film. He had gone through this process many times over the years and could do it swiftly in the darkness without being able to see.

"Danny, lunch is going to be over by the time you get those pictures developed," Sam said, knocking on the door to the dark room.

"I told you that you could go to lunch without me." Danny opened the door with the developed roll in his hand as he held it up to the light and looked at the final image on the strip. "You can't really see anything like this." He frowned, and his friends leaned in to try and get a better look at the image on the roll.

"I only see the hall," Tucker said as his brow creased and his eyes squinted.

"Just wait until have the time to actually get the picture developed," Danny grumbled, rolling up the film to place into a container from his bag. "Then you'll see." He hoped, at least.

"Well, if we're lucky, maybe we still have enough time to grab something quick for lunch." Sam placed her hands on her friends' shoulders and ushered them out of the photography classroom.

Shoving the film container into his book bag, Danny frowned the entire way to the cafeteria. If that chill in the classroom that morning was the result of a ghost's presence, then did that mean a ghost passed by his room last night while he was talking to Jazz? His brow furrowed as that thought turned over in his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

Through his next classes after lunch, Danny couldn't keep his mind focused on what the teachers were saying. He did his best to write down notes, but he had the feeling that he would need to ask his friends for their notes. His mind kept turning back to the strange event that happened during lunch, and he wanted to get back to the photography classroom to develop the final image on his latest roll of film. He couldn't make out anything on the small frame of the film, but maybe once the picture was developed, they would be able to see a clearer image of the ghost. At least, he hoped. He really, really hoped that the ghost would show up in the picture. He hated that look his friends gave him, as if he was crazy for suggesting that ghosts really did exist in real life instead of being some sort of supernatural element within stories and movies.

Danny glanced at the clock to see that only about fifteen minutes remained in his second to last class. One more class to go, and he would be able to get the photograph developed. Then he felt a vibration against his hip. After the incident yesterday in Lancer's office, he remembered to set his phone to vibrate so that the ring tone wouldn't interrupt his teachers. Some days, he simply forgot about switching it back to vibrate before school started. Danny shot a glance to the front of the classroom where the teacher was rambling on about something that Danny failed to pay attention to and would probably pay for that later. Slipping his phone out of his pocket, he raised it to his ear.

"Hello," he whispered, hunching over his desk and trying not to draw much attention to himself. A few of the students nearest to him shot him looks of annoyance. Some were probably of jealousy since he got to accept phone calls freely in the middle of class while the other students had to be sneaky about sending text messages.

"Danny, my boy," Mr. Carmichael said in his usual enthusiastic manner whenever there was a hot story happening at the moment. "Why are you whispering?" Confusion replaced his enthusiasm.

"I'm in the middle of class," Danny explained, still keeping his voice low so as not to interrupt the teacher.

Mr. Carmichael fell silent for a brief moment, almost as if it was only hitting him then that Danny was a high school student. "Ah yes! Well, forget about that for now. I got a story that just broke out, and I need you there on scene to capture some pictures as it's happening. Can you make it to the corner of Jackson and Portview quickly? I need you to get there before the whole thing is over. Don't worry. You can't miss it!" Before Danny even had the time to respond, Mr. Carmichael continued, "Great! I expect some amazing pictures when you turn up at my office." Then the call went dead, and Danny was left trying to scramble through the man's fast speech.

With a sigh, Danny grabbed his things and stuffed them into his book bag. Then he darted out of the classroom without needing to say anything to the teacher. He quickly sent a text to Tucker, asking him to take notes in their math class and jot down their assignment for that night. Then he messaged Sam and asked her to take any important notes from the end of their class, though he hoped she would simply give him all the notes as he failed to really listen today. After he informed his friends of his absence in class, he jogged toward the nearest exit of the building and started making his way toward the corner of Jackson and Portview, wondering what he would find once he reached it.

Danny wasn't really much of a runner. He never considered going out of track or anything like that, but after years of running from bullies and racing from school to wherever the scene of a story was happening at that time, he really built up his stamina. It also helped to keep him in pretty decent shape, which he thought was a good thing. When he reached the scene, he was only a touch winded.

His attention, though, turned immediately to what was taking place around him. Firemen were all around shouting out orders and instructions. There was an ambulance or two around, and the EMTs were taking a look at the people that managed to escape the burning building. The scene seemed a bit in chaos as the flames burned within the building.

Danny dug into his bag and grabbed his camera to start taking his shots of everything that was happening. It wasn't really much of a story, in that a burning building didn't usually make it to front page news, but it was something that needed to be reported. Danny took shots of the people being treated after surviving the fire. He recognized Sara Sterling and James Bradley already on scene to interview the survivors that lived in the building. Then Danny turned to snap pictures of the burning building itself. He blinked then zoomed in on an upper floor near the top of the building and adjusted the lens for a clearer shot. There was a young girl, possibly no older than seven, at the window, but she was too short to reach the latch that kept the window locked. If no one helped her soon, she would suffocate from smoke inhalation long before the fire could consume her body.

"Hey!" Danny shouted as he approached one of the firemen trying to put out the flames of the building. "There's a little girl still in there!" He pointed out the window where the girl could be seen.

"Out of the way, kid," the fireman ordered, shoving Danny away with a hard elbow to the ribs that forced Danny to back up a few steps. "We're trying to get this fire put out, and we can't do our jobs with kids getting in the way. We've already got men inside searching for anyone still trapped in the fire."

Danny certainly didn't want to be in anyone's way, especially with the fire raging out of control, but someone needed to do something to save the girl. Firemen might be inside the building, but if they didn't reach the girl quickly, she might not be alive by the time someone got there. Turning his camera back onto the window, he used it like binoculars for a clearer view. The window was empty this time, and he blinked in surprise. Had he only imagined the little girl there the first time? No, he hadn't been able to see through her like the cheerleader that appeared in the hall at school. He glanced around but didn't see her anywhere among the survivors of the fire. Then he cast about in the sky, looking anywhere that he could think.

There! He spotted her floating in the air. Floating? That didn't make much sense. His brow creased as he aimed his camera at the girl. She wasn't alone. He spied someone else with her as she clung to the man with her face buried against his neck. Danny didn't pause to think. He simply started snapping pictures as the pair descended to the street. As soon as they touched down, a woman went running over to them.

"Tris!" the mother cried as she scooped the little girl into her arms, and Danny caught a photograph of the happy reunion as a chill ran down his spine.

"Mommy!" cried the little girl with dirt and grime upon her cheeks and her blonde pigtails in a mess with the left one almost coming undone. She clung to her mother as she sobbed into the woman's shoulder.

Danny turned to take some more pictures of the girl's rescuer, but he vanished from sight shortly afterward. He lowered his camera and stared at where he last saw the rescuer. Was that another ghost? He had faded from sight much like how the cheerleader did at school. For a time, Danny stood there and watched that spot, almost as if he expected the ghost to reappear if he waited long enough. His attention was pulled away from the ghost when one of the firemen pushed him out of the way. Danny focused back on taking pictures of the event going on around him for _The Amity Park Herald_.

When at last the fire was extinguished and the ambulances drove away to take some people to the hospital, the building looked like a disaster. Many of the people that lived in the apartment building gazed at it sadly, having lost their possessions and homes. But other than a lingering cough from the smoke inhalation, they were unharmed. Danny took a few pictures of the aftermath of the destructive force of the fire. Then he slapped the cap back over the lens. He had nothing more to do there, so he left the scene and headed to the usual place to get the film developed so that he could turn the pictures in to Mr. Carmichael.

"Back again?" the man behind the counter asked as Danny handed over his already developed roll of film and removed the second roll from his camera to be developed. Cyrus was a tall, lean man in his early twenties, wearing a red collared shirt with three buttons and beige khaki pants. The outfit looked strange on him when he had tattoos on the visible parts of his arms and around the back of his neck. His hair, which was originally blond, was dyed bright blue, and the short locks were spiked up down the center of his head with the sides shaved. His left eyebrow had two piercings. He didn't look like a man who typically held a steady nine to five kind of job, but he worked at the camera store for as long as Danny had gone there after getting into the whole idea of photography.

"Yup," Danny answered as he leaned on the counter. "I've got to get those pictures to Mr. Carmichael before the end of the day."

"I'll have them ready for you in a jiffy." Cyrus grinned then disappeared into the back to develop the rolls of film into pictures.

Danny, meanwhile, wandered about the shop to take a look around at what they had. He grabbed a few new rolls of film as he was running low on them. Then he glanced over what sort of camera accessories were available. The store had some really nice, latest model cameras, all digital and with special features that he barely would know how to use any of them. After he wandered around for a good while, he returned to the counter and placed the rolls of film on it then leaned against it as he drummed out a beat with his fingers.

"There you are," Cyrus said some time later when he stepped out from the back area with two packages of the developed pictures.

"Thanks, Cy." Danny grinned as he slapped the necessary money down on the counter and collected the two packages. He could always count on Cyrus to make short work of developing the pictures when he needed it in a hurry.

Cyrus rang up the charge for the pictures and the film then handed Danny back his change. "Anytime." His mouth stretched into a grin as he leaned on the counter, watching as Danny tucked the rolls of film into his pocket. "Are you busy this weekend?"

Danny checked the front pictures in one of the packages to identify them. Then he stuffed the one without the pictures from the fire into his book bag. "Huh?" He blinked as he lifted his head to stare at the man. "Uh, I don't know yet. Probably. I have to keep up with all my homework." He groaned and rolled his eyes.

Cyrus nodded with a look of disappointment in his eyes. "Ah, yes. Lots of homework." He frowned. "Well, if you get some free time and want to hang out, most of my weekend is free."

"Oh. Yeah, sure." Danny kept the package with the pictures that he took at the burning building in his hand."I'll see you later." He waved to Cyrus then left the store to head off to the offices of _The Amity Park Herald_. As he walked, he pulled out his cell phone and sent a quick message to his friends, asking if they would be able to meet him to give him the notes and homework assignments from the classes he skipped out on because of the burning building story. He wasn't able to meet with Tucker to get his math assignment from the day before yesterday since his friend ended up being grounded and wasn't allowed out or to have visitors over, even if it was only for a second to pick something up from him.

When he reached the building, Danny entered and was ignored by the rest of the people walking about the lobby area as he headed for the elevators. They either recognized who he was as a photographer for _The Amity Park Herald_ or they really didn't care about some teenager wandering around inside the building. Once inside the elevator, he hit the button for the top floor where Mr. Carmichael's office was. He leaned back against the wall of the elevator and folded his arms as he watched the numbers over the door light up with each floor he passed. On the fourteenth floor, the elevator jerked to a halt, and Danny pushed away from the wall as the doors opened. The noise hit him immediately as he stepped out of the elevator and into the busy offices of the newspaper. People were shouting over each other about deadlines and corrections needed and other things. A poor intern was struggling under the weight of ten coffees to hand out to reporters and editors. The man was hardly that much older than Danny, and half the time he looked about ready to drop from being ordered to run around and fetch things all day long. Danny tucked the package under his arm and unloaded some of the cups of coffee from the man.

"Thanks, Danny," Aaron said with a sigh of relief as they waded their way through the office to hand out the coffee. Despite being older than Danny, he was an inch or two shorter with his chestnut brown hair slicked back. "I was starting to lose my grip on some of them."

"No problem," Danny told him with a grin and a pat on the back. "But next time, you probably shouldn't take on more than you can hold. They can wait a bit before getting their coffees."

"Ha, that's what you think, kid!" Mr. Keagan said and slapped Danny so hard on the back that the teenager nearly stumbled forward into a passing woman carrying a stack of papers. Danny managed to catch his balance before they could collide and send paper flying all over the offices. "Coffee is our life blood," Mr. Keagan continued, not even taking notice of the mishap he nearly caused. He dressed in a plain white collared, button up shirt with suspenders, which gave him the appearance of a newsman from decades ago. It reminded Danny a little of the ghost cheerleader he saw in the hall at school, but when he squinted, he couldn't see any evidence that the man was see through, and there was no chill in the air that seemed to accompany ghosts.

"Give it a rest," Ms. Avery said with a roll of her brown eyes as she straightened the stack of papers in her hands. "You don't need any more coffee in you. What you really need is a plug for that big mouth of yours." She huffed, blowing up a lock of her strawberry blonde hair that had fallen into her eyes. Ever since he started working for _The Amity Park Herald_ , Danny couldn't recall a time when Mr. Keagan and Ms. Avery ever agreed on anything. They were like an old married couple that did nothing but bicker all of the time.

Danny gave a quick wave to Aaron as the two reporters started butting heads, yet again. Then he hurried off to Mr. Carmichael's office. He knocked on the door, and the man lifted his head from reviewing papers scattered about his desk. A wide smile broke onto his face when he spotted Danny in the doorway, and he waved his hand in a gesture to invite the teenager into the office. Danny entered, closing the door behind him.

"Ah, Danny, my boy." Mr. Carmichael straightened up his papers and set them off to one side of his desk. "Tell me you got some great shots." He held out a large hand in anticipation of the package of pictures from Danny. As soon as the package was within range, he snatched it right out of the teenager's hand and started flicking through the pictures. "Nope, nope, nope. What is that?" Mr. Carmichael squinted his green eyes at one of the pictures before wrinkling his nose, and Danny felt the twinge of nervousness that always came over him when it looked like Mr. Carmichael might reject all of the pictures that he took. "Nope." He flipped to the next one and stopped. "Well, well." He grinned as he plucked the picture from the package. "This one looks interesting." He held it up for Danny to see.

Danny leaned over the desk to look over the picture, which was the one he took of the ghost holding the girl after he rescued her from the burning building while they still floated in midair. "Oh," he said with some surprise. Excitement built under the surface as he focused on the fact that the ghost could be clearly seen in the photograph.

"I think you might have just landed yourself a front page story." Mr. Carmichael picked up the phone sitting on the corner of his desk and hit a button. "Yeah, get Davis up here right away. I've got a story for him to write." He smiled as he spoke, his gaze upon the picture in his hand.

"What about pictures for the story about the fire?" Danny questioned.

Mr. Carmichael blinked at him. "Ah, yes! Hm." He glanced at the pictures again that he flicked through already. "This and, hm, this. That should do it." He selected the two pictures from the group then handed the package back to Danny. "Talk to Diana on the way out, and she'll pay you for the pictures."

Danny left the office, nearly bumping into Mr. Davis on the way out. Their conversations tended to go like that every time that Danny stopped by to drop off photographs for the newspaper. Mr. Carmichael was very work oriented and didn't typically talk to him about anything beyond news stories. He wasn't married, but everyone in the office said he was married to his work. A small smile twitched at Danny's mouth as he stopped at Diana's desk outside the door of Mr. Carmichael's office.

"Here's your pay." Diana handed him an envelope that contained a check as payment for his pictures that they would be using in the newspaper.

"Thanks. See you next time." Danny tucked the envelope into his book bag. After saying a quick goodbye to the people he knew at the newspaper, he stepped into the elevator and hit the button to return to the lobby.


	6. Chapter 6

Danny pulled out his cell phone after he left the building that housed the offices of _The Amity Park Herald_. Sam and Tucker left a message for him, saying that they would be hanging out at Nasty Burger if he wanted to pick up their notes and homework assignments. He tucked his phone back into his pocket, turning down the street in the direction of the Nasty Burger, which despite the name was the favorite hangout of most teenagers in Amity Park and it actually served really good burgers. The problem with it being such a popular hangout meant that the A list were frequently at the fast food joint. Danny only hoped that Calvin wouldn't be there today. He rubbed at his throat, remembering how the jock held him under the dirty water in the kitchen's sink. That was an experience he hoped never to repeat.

Within twenty minutes, Danny arrived at the Nasty Burger. He made a quick sweep around the place to check for the A list. Dash sat in a corner both with Paulina and Kwan, as usual, but none of the three seemed interested in paying him any attention when he entered. Danny walked over to the booth where his friends sat and slid onto the bench beside Tucker. His friends already had their order of food in front of them. Tucker had a big, juicy burger, extra meaty, while Sam ate a salad.

"Did I miss anything important in class?" Danny asked as he sat back to relax.

"Same old, same old," Tucker answered, wiping his hands on a napkin. "Math is so boring." He reached into his book bag to get the notes for Danny.

"You didn't really miss much," Sam said, shrugging as she pushed around what remained of her salad. "Homework is basically reading chapter eight in our textbook and answering the questions at the end."

"Great," Danny grumbled as he took the notes from Tucker. He was a little disappointed that Sam didn't present him with any notes from their class, but with that assignment, it sounded like he could manage to get through it without them. He glanced quickly over the notes from Tucker and wrote down the homework that Sam mentioned. "Ugh! We have to do twenty-five math problems tonight?"

"Yup." Tucker patted him on the shoulder as Danny groaned. His friends were both aware that math was probably his worst subject in school.

"So what was the big emergency story this time?" Sam questioned as she folded her arms and leaned back against the booth.

"There was a building on fire." Danny reached over and stole a fry, or seven from Tucker, who protested too late to stop his friend from cramming the fries into his mouth. He grinned as Tucker gave him a shove, though his friend wasn't really angry with him.

"Did you manage to get that picture from lunch developed?" Tucker picked up his burger and took another big bite from it. "You know," he continued with his mouth full, "the one with the ghost." He chuckled until Sam, who had her nose wrinkled in disgust, kicked him in the shin under the table. Danny reached over and patted him on the back as Tucker started coughing.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Sam said, looking rather grossed out by it.

"You didn't have to kick me!" Tucker argued after he managed to swallow his food without choking on it.

Danny rolled his eyes, hoping this wouldn't dissolve into another one of their meat versus vegetables debate. He searched around inside his book bag to find the other package of pictures. "I haven't had the chance to check it out, but I'm pretty sure she'll show up on it." He sifted through the pictures as Sam moved to their side of the booth. She and Tucker both leaned over Danny to watch him check through the pictures until he finally found the one that he took at lunch.

"Whoa," Sam and Tucker both breathed out as they stared at the picture in Danny's hands. The cheerleader ghost wasn't as visible as the ghost from the fire, but they could still make her out, a faint image like an overlay from another picture over the one of their school's hall.

"I see it," Tucker said, taking the picture and holding it closer to his face as he examined it, "but I can still hardly believe it."

"Ghosts really do exist?" Sam shook her head. "I'm sorry for not believing you before, but you have to admit it sounded pretty crazy at the time."

"I don't blame you for not believing," Danny said with a small smile, relieved that the cheerleader showed up in the picture. He didn't want his friends thinking he was crazy for believing that ghosts existed.

"But what exactly does this mean?" Tucker handed the picture back to Danny with a frown. "There was never a ghost at school before," he explained when his friends merely stared at him. "From how she's dressed, I'd say she's from at least fifty years ago. So if she's been at the school haunting it all this time, why are you the first to see her?"

Danny shrugged, having no answer, but the question brought a wrinkle to his brow as he stared at the picture. "I wasn't the only one that heard her. The other students could hear her while we were in class." He chewed on his lip for a moment, debating whether or not to tell his friends about it. "Actually, I saw another ghost at the scene of the burning building. He rescued a little girl that was trapped inside."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sam held up a hand as she shook her head. "A ghost rescued a human? Doesn't that sound a little, I don't know, crazy?" She frowned at Danny with her brow pinching. "How could a ghost even touch her? Aren't they, you know, intangible or something?"

"I don't know!" Danny argued, grumpiness settling inside him as he felt, again, like his friends didn't believe in what he told them. "It's not like I've done extensive research into what ghosts can and can't do!"

"You don't need to get angry, Danny." Tucker rested a hand on his friend's shoulder, perhaps hoping to calm Danny. "We're just trying to understand what's happening. This is pretty new for us too."

Danny glanced between his friends then sighed as he hung his head. "Sorry," he mumbled, feeling even worse. "I guess I'm just getting upset because you two have never doubted me like this before. It hurts."

"You have to admit though. This is a lot for us to take in," Sam pointed out as she reached out and squeezed Danny's hand. "Tell you what. We can all do some research into this."

"We can?" Tucker asked doubtfully.

Sam glared at him as if daring him to give her an excuse to kick him again. "Yes," she hissed firmly, "we can. You're all tech savvy, Tucker. Searching for everything about ghosts on the internet should be a piece of cake for you. But if you think it's too hard," she trailed off with a smirk, knowing any suggestion of doubt in his ability would spur Tucker into doing everything to prove her wrong when it came to technology.

"Ha! I'll have more information than you within a night."

"Oh? You think?" Sam looked unimpressed by Tucker's claim. "I bet I'll find out more than you."

"You're on!" Tucker jumped to agree to the bet, and Danny rolled his eyes, knowing that was exactly what Sam wanted. "And when I win, you," Tucker thought for a moment, "have to wear a dress. To school. And not a black one."

Sam's brow twitched at that last point. She had for years dodged having to wear the pink and floral frilly dresses that her mother insisted on trying to make her wear. "Then when I win, you have to eat salad. For a week."

"Deal!" Tucker agreed, confident in his ability with technology.

Danny wasn't sure which one of them would actually win the bet. Tucker was a whiz when it came to technology, but Sam had ways of proving quite the contender in this sort of bet. No matter which one won, Danny was glad to see them both helping him with this sudden ghost problem. He stuffed the pictures back into the package they came in then returned it to his book bag.

"Well," Danny sighed, "I should probably get home. I have all that homework to finish up before tomorrow."

"Oh!" Tucker said as Sam slid out to allow Danny to climb to his feet. "They're doing a monster movie marathon on Saturday. Think you'll be free to join us?"

"I'm pretty sure I can get my homework done in time to make it," Danny answered, slinging his book bag across his chest. "But there's always the risk that I'll get called away to take pictures for a story." He winced. He loved his job with the newspaper, but it did have a tendency to cut into his personal time with his friends.

"That job really takes up a lot of your time," Sam said with a frown.

"Yeah, but just think," Tucker said. "He's already got his foot in the door if he plans to pursue a career of being a newspaper photographer. Even if he doesn't stay with _The Amity Park Herald_ , he'd have plenty of people there to give him references to other places. That's more than most of us can say. It's not like you and I have jobs."

Sam's mouth pursed as she glared at him. "Maybe we should consider getting jobs that align with our interests in our career choices."

"First you're making me do research about ghosts. Now you want me to get a job too?" Tucker groaned, slouching in the booth.

"It's not all that bad, Tuck. You'd probably be great at any place that deals in tech," Danny offered. "Anyway, I'll see you at school tomorrow." He gave his friends a wave as they said a quick goodbye before settling back into the discussion of jobs. He left the Nasty Burger, stretching his arms over his head. As tempting as it was to run home and start doing some research on ghosts, Danny knew he had put his focus on his homework as he started walking home.

When he arrived at his house, Danny entered and headed immediately into the kitchen. His parents, of course, were locked up in the basement again from the sounds of banging and an occasional yelp of pain from his father who likely misjudged something as he worked on whatever they did in the basement. Danny yanked open the refrigerator door and paused when he saw a note on something on the middle shelf.

_Danny,_  
I made a pizza for you. Just heat the oven to 450° and pop it in for at least thirty minutes.  
Love, Mom 

Danny smiled as he found the small premade pizza waiting for him and took it out of the refrigerator. Then he walked over to the oven and set it to preheat to four hundred and fifty degrees. As he waited on that to finish, he returned to the refrigerator and grabbed the milk to pour a glass. Then he sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out his books, deciding to get started on his homework while waiting on the pizza. Math made his head spin, but he started reviewing the notes Tucker took and got to work on the problems for his homework.

He only got the first four finished by the time the oven beeped to announce the oven was fully heated. Getting up, he walked over and put the pizza into the oven then set the timer for thirty minutes. When he returned to his homework, he scratched his head over some of the problems, feeling certain that he wasn't getting the answers right. Halfway finished with his math homework, Danny paused when the timer went off. After taking out the pizza and cutting it into slices, he returned to the table with a plate stacked with two of the slices. He munched on the pizza as he continued working on his homework.

"Ugh, I hate math!" Danny grumbled to himself long after the pizza was finished. He was stuck on the last problem, and even though he wasn't some genius in math, he was pretty certain the answer wasn't negative one thousand and fifty-two. After erasing his work on that problem, he started over, trying to figure out where he went so wrong in solving it. When he came to an answer of thirty-seven, he decided that was probably close enough. With a sigh of relief, he closed his textbook, happy to have the frustration of math over with for the night.

Danny carried his plate over to the sink and quickly washed it, and the pan in which pizza was cooked. Then he grabbed his things and headed upstairs to finish up the rest of his homework before dinner. He collapsed into the chair at his desk, dropping his book bag onto the floor beside him. When he reached into his bag, the first thing to meet his hand was one of the packages of pictures. He pulled it out and flipped through them, pulling out the one of the cheerleader from school. For a while, he stared at it, still amazed that she showed up despite being see through.

"Too bad Mr. Carmichael took that picture of the ghost from the fire," Danny mumbled as he set the picture aside on his desk. He started to grab his books when a thought occurred to him. At the scene of the fire, he snapped more than a single picture of the ghost rescuing the girl! He dug through his book bag until he found the second package of pictures. Then he started searching through all of them, stopping when he came to one of the girl and the ghost. But the pair were still fairly high up in the air. He continued through the pictures, watching the pair descend from the sky and touch down on the ground. Then he stopped and stared at the picture just after the mother rushed forward to hug her daughter.

The ghost stood behind them without a trace of being see through like the cheerleader. He looked solid enough to reach out and touch him without a hand passing through him. It brought Sam's question back to his mind. Ghosts were thought to be intangible. Why did this ghost not look that way? Danny frowned as he examined the picture of the ghost. His white hair was slicked back out of his face, which was marked by soot. His green eyes glowed with a hint mischievousness, and that little quirk of a smile at the sight of the reuniting mother and daughter made Danny sigh, wishing that the ghost would smile like that at him. A furious flush exploded onto his cheeks as he slapped the picture down onto his desk and covered it with a hand.

"What am I thinking?" Danny asked the empty room. A strange feeling twisted inside him, making his blush grow darker. After a moment, he drew his hand away from the picture to give it another look. The ghost was, indeed, quite handsome with a strong jaw line, very nice muscle definition, tight pants. Danny found himself blushing again as he wished he caught an image of the ghost from behind to check out his butt. He buried his face in his hands, groaning with confusion running rampant in his head. Why was he getting all flushed and flustered over a ghost, and a male one at that? He never had this sort of feeling toward any living man in his memory. But - Danny spread his fingers to glance at the picture again - the ghost was very attractive. He had no hope of denying that fact.


	7. Chapter 7

Danny shoveled a spoonful of cereal into his mouth as he sat at the kitchen table eating his breakfast. He tried to push away that feeling of embarrassment to little effect. After he finished up all of his homework, he spent the remainder of his night putting together a little scrapbook of sorts with the pictures of ghosts that he had taken. He labeled them with the date that he took the picture and the location of their appearance. It seemed like a rather silly thing to do now that he thought about it, but for some reason this whole thing about ghosts inspired him to keep track of the ones that he encountered and what he knew about them.

"Hm."

Danny glanced over at his parents, who were for another rare moment having breakfast with him. They had the newspaper before them as they both leaned their heads in, hiding behind the paper as they read over the front page news. Danny felt a little pride when he caught a glimpse of the newspaper earlier and saw his photograph of the ghost rescuing the girl under the front page headline. He didn't get a real chance to read over the article since his parents grabbed hold of the newspaper and basically buried themselves in reading it. Danny's brow furrowed slightly, finding the whole thing curious. His parents didn't often show such interest in the news.

"Anything interesting?" Danny asked, trying not to sound overly curious. The newspaper slowly lowered, and Danny gulped at the stares his parents gave him that made him feel like he was about to be in major trouble, even though he hadn't done anything wrong. Lately.

"You took this picture?" His father frowned severely, a rather unnatural expression for the usually jovial man, as he turned the newspaper around to point at the picture. With his large hand though, most of the headline was covered up, and all Danny could read of it was: -lain?

"Yes," Danny answered slowly as his brow creased even further at his parents' strange behavior. "I was assigned to take pictures when a building caught on fire."

His mother leaned over the table, concern in his violet eyes. "You didn't," she hesitated, throwing a quick glance to the picture before turning back to her son, "meet the one in the picture, did you?"

Danny shook his head, confusion still spinning about in his head. "No, he left immediately after rescuing the girl. I caught a shot of the girl reuniting with her mother, and when I turned back, he was gone." He couldn't explain it, but he had this feeling that it was probably best not to tell his parents about the other pictures he had of the ghost. Their reaction to the single photograph that made it into the newspaper didn't sit well with him.

His parents exchanged a look before they both stood from the table. "We have some work to do," his father announced, tucking the newspaper under his arm as he headed for the door to the basement.

"Okay. I'm going to be heading off to school soon." Danny finished up the last of his cereal.

"Have a good day." His mother dropped a quick kiss onto the top of her head before she followed her husband into the basement.

Danny frowned at the closed door, puzzling over his parents' reaction and questions. After he washed up his bowl from breakfast, he grabbed his book bag then headed out the front door. He didn't have to wait long before Sam's car pulled up to pick him up for school. He hopped into the back of the car and relaxed back against the seat as Sam started heading for Casper High.

Tucker turned around in the front seat. "Did you see the front page?" His frown brought back Danny's confusion.

"My picture was on it," Danny answered, "but I didn't get the chance to read it."

Tucker produced the front page of the newspaper from his book bag then handed it to Danny. The title over the photograph read in big bold letters: Hero or Villain? Danny scanned through the article written up by Mr. Davis. The reporter had, apparently, tracked down the girl that was rescued by the ghost to interview her about what happened. Tris Malone, age six, suffered only minor effects from the smoke inhalation thanks to a mysterious, white haired man showing up to rescue her before the effects could worsen. When asked to retell her terrifying story of being trapped in the burning building, Tris talked about how scared she had been until an angel, as she described the ghost, swooped in to save her. Tris wished she had the chance to give the angel her thanks. But Mr. Davis continued the article to question whether this mysterious man was indeed the angel that Tris thought he was. Or was he the perpetrator of the fire and used it as a means of looking like a hero to the public? The forensic evidence wasn't in yet to determine what exactly caused the fire, but Mr. Davis promised he would be looking into it and would write again when he discovered the truth behind the fire.

"They're trying to paint him up as a villain?" Danny shouted after he finished reading through the article. "He rescued her! How does that make him the villain?"

"That's how it works," Sam said with bitterness in her voice. "Some weird person appears out of nowhere with white hair and the ability to fly? It's like those comic books with mutant superheroes. They get painted up as villains by the media and those people that are terrified that the mutants have some secret agenda to annihilate the human race. It sucks, and it's unfair, but that seems to be the way their mentality works." Her hands squeezed tightly around the steering wheel.

"He's only a ghost," Danny argued with a frown. "If he hadn't been there, that girl could have died."

"And now they're trying to make it sound like it was way too coincidental that he just happened to appear at the exact right moment," Tucker said, but his troubled expression said that he didn't like what the paper wrote anymore than Danny did. "It's just their way of making news."

"Yeah, well, it's _my_ picture they're using to make him look bad." Danny didn't like that fact. The ghost did something good and heroic. He didn't deserve to be painted up like some kind of a hero worship seeking villain.

"Oh! But look what I managed to dig up last night," Tucker said, shooting a smug smirk at Sam before he grabbed something from his book bag.

Danny stared at the printed sheet handed to him. It had a picture of a young woman that looked to be from fifty years ago. Under the picture read the name: Annalisa Johnson. Danny's jaw nearly dropped to see that the woman was the same one that he took a picture of yesterday. Annalisa was a seventeen year old cheerleader from a moderately wealthy family with plenty of friends. The details listed about her life made it _sound_ like everything was happy and perfect for her, until he read the part about how her family moved to Amity Park to escape a man that was stalking their daughter. Her real name was Delilah Mills, but the new identity didn't save her. Her stalker Carl Peters tracked her down and killed her at the high school.

"That's awful!" Danny gawked at his friends, wishing this was some kind of nightmare. When he saw her ghost, he never stopped to think about how she might have died. How did the ghost from the fire die? Was he drawn to the burning building because he died in a fire?

"Well, according to some research, ghosts only come to be after some sort of traumatic death," Sam explained. "Something about the post human consciousness forming from ectoplasm. Or something like that."

"Oh! I remember something about that," Tucker said as Sam parked her car in one of the slots at school. "Some guy back in the eighties wrote his thesis paper on the obsessive nature of ghosts. Apparently ghosts are supposed to have some obsession that they're completely focused on. What was his name?" Tucker pondered over it as they climbed out of the car and headed into the school building. "I think it started with a V. Or was it a W?" He scratched at the back of his head. "M, maybe? Well, the name doesn't really matter, I guess."

"Ghosts have an obsession?" Danny's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "So what would Delilah's obsession be? She didn't seem to have some sort of vendetta against her killer or anything when she was giggling and dancing about the hall."

"I have no answers on that." Tucker shrugged, shaking his head.

"But that guy was only theorizing it, right? I mean, it's not like he had any proof or actual ghosts to test the theory on," Sam pointed out as they reached their lockers. "The whole obsession thing could just be an idea he had and managed to write a logical argument on to suggest that it was a plausible idea for ghosts to function under some sort of obsession."

"But there is some sense to it." Danny opened up his locker and grabbed a textbook. "If a ghost is formed from the post human consciousness of someone that died, traumatically, then we might assume that what they felt in that exact moment of death, their strongest emotion, is the main basis of their existence, leading to some sort of obsession. It also adds to that whole idea of ghosts having unfinished business. Their unfinished business might stem from whatever their obsession is. Like, if someone died with the idea of revenge in mind, their obsession might be going after whoever killed them." Danny blinked when he noticed his friends staring at him. "What?"

"You actually sounded like you'd done research on this before," Sam said as she closed her locker.

Danny shrugged. "Just trying to make sense of this. What if those two ghosts aren't the only ones that are here? What if there are violent ghosts that start popping up? It would be good to be prepared and figure out all we can about ghosts."

"Yeah, but how do you stop a ghost?" Tucker questioned, his mouth thinning with concern.

"That, I don't know yet." Danny sighed. "But all the more reason to do some more research on ghosts. I'll see you at lunch." He waved to his friends then hurried down the hall to his first class.

School was about as exciting as always, which was to say not all that much, but now Danny was impatiently waiting a chance to dig more into the information about ghosts. He passed Dash in the hall between classes, and though the jock didn't treat him like a friend, Dash at least wasn't pushing him around and harassing him anymore. During one passing, he heard Paulina mention that she managed to convince her father to buy her a ticket to the Dumpty Humpty concert so that she could go with Dash and Kwan. Danny smiled to himself, feeling like his school life was finally get a bit better.

"Hey!" Danny yelped in surprise as someone grabbed hold of his arm when he was leaving his last class before lunch. He stumbled over his feet, wincing when it felt like the person was about to rip his arm right out of its socket. "Let go!"

But the person didn't release hold of him until they were outside in the school parking lot. Yanked forward, he was thrown into the side of one car. When he spun around, Danny gulped with fear as Calvin stood before him. If it was Dash, Danny thought he could find some way to talk the blond jock out of pounding on him, or he could get lucky and have Kwan pop up out of nowhere to distract Dash, which happened frequently. Calvin, on the other hand, wasn't one to listen to logic. All he cared about was making less popular students hurt as much as possible.

"You know, Calvin, maybe we can talk about this," Danny said, hunching down as he held his arms up before him. He doubted it would do him any good to try talking to Calvin, but he could give it a shot. If nothing else, maybe he could delay the bully until a teacher or someone else showed up to stop him. "What did I ever do to you to make you hate me so much?"

"If you don't know," Calvin smirked as he raised up a fist, "maybe a few knocks to the head will jog your memory."

"Yeah," Danny said with awkward slowness, "I don't think that's such a good idea." He flinched prematurely when Calvin drew back his fist in anticipation of the coming beating.

At the screech of wheels, Danny cracked open an eye that he had clamped shut. A motorcycle skidded to a halt, and Calvin immediately jumped out of the way. Danny was fairly certain his heart stopped for a good minute as the motorcycle neared him and settled to a stop just inches from him. The man driving the motorcycle laughed, looking over his shoulder at the woman clinging to him with her arms wrapped tightly around his body and her face buried in the back of his biker's jacket. While the man with shoulder length blond hair looked as solid as any human, the woman with her bizarre neon green hair and very pale skin had that same see through quality as the cheerleader. But she was only slightly transparent in comparison to the cheerleader. Danny shivered at the chill that came with the presence of the ghost.

"What the hell?" Calvin shouted, getting over his fright of nearly being hit by the motorcycle as his rage returned.

The blond man turned his green eyes onto the jock then snorted at the sight of him. "Oh, a big bad jock," he said in mock terror. "I guess the world really hasn't changed that much." He grinned as he leaned on the front of his motorcycle.

The woman climbed off the motorcycle, combing her fingers through her strangely colored hair. "Looks like the jocks are still as dumb as ever too," she said, her eyes glowing bright red. "Should I take care of him?" She smiled to the blond man.

"What is wrong with you freaks?" Calvin demanded then shook his head. "Never mind. That doesn't matter. I'll just kick all of your asses."

"You'd beat up a woman?" Danny asked with disgust in his voice. "You really have no conscience, do you?"

"Oh, don't worry." The woman turned her smile onto Danny. "He won't be able to lay a hand on me."

Danny had no doubts about that statement. If ghosts were primarily intangible, any punch he tried to throw at her would only go right through her. But that didn't mean he had to like the fact that Calvin would actually try to hit a woman. "Calvin, just leave them alone," Danny said, glaring at the jock. "They didn't mean you any harm."

"Didn't mean me any harm?" Calvin growled, fists curling tightly at his sides. "They nearly ran us both over, Fenton."

"Ugh! This is so tiring!" The woman placed a hand to her mouth then blew on her hand like blowing a kiss to him.

Danny swore he saw soft blue lips fly through the air from her hand to the jock. When it struck him, Calvin suddenly vanished from sight, and Danny jumped in surprise.

"What did you just do?" Danny shouted, though he couldn't say he was all that disappointed to see the jock gone. "Where did he go?"

"Just a small talent I have." The woman smiled with a shrug, clearly not concerned about what happened to the jock. "I actually don't really know where that sends him. But if it causes him a little harm, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. He seems like a pretty big jerk."

"Well, you're not wrong there," Danny mumbled, only feeling slightly bad about Calvin's disappearance. His brow wrinkled as he glanced between the pair. "I get that she's a ghost. But you," he looked over the man, "don't look like a ghost." But even as he said it, he remembered the ghost from the fire.

"Oh, I'm a ghost too." A wry smirk spread onto the man's face. "I'd show you my little trick, but," he glanced up, putting a hand to his eyes as he stared at the bright sun, "that's really more of a night thing."

"Say," the woman said as she leaned her hands on the back end of the motorcycle's seat. "You wouldn't happen to know of a good spot for us, would you? You know, some sort of abandoned building where we could set up a place to stay?"

"Uh," Danny said, blinking in bafflement. "Well, there is an old warehouse on the edge of town that hasn't been used in years."

"Hey, thanks, kid! You're pretty all right." The man grinned then it fell as his brow knitted. "For a human, you're surprisingly calm about running into ghosts."

"Well, I saw one yesterday, and you don't seem like you plan on actually hurting me." Danny frowned slightly, remembering what just happened to Calvin. He really hoped the woman didn't decide to do that to him too. Then he thought of something. "Maybe you can help me out with something." He dug into his book bag, and feeling really silly about it, he pulled out one of the photographs from the burning building. It wasn't even the best picture of the ghost, but for some reason, he decided to carry it around with him. His cheeks grew warm as he stared at the image of the ghost just before he touched down on the ground with the girl. "Do you know anything about this ghost?" He held out the picture for the two ghosts to see.

Both ghosts leaned forward to look at the picture. "So he managed to make it here too," the man mumbled thoughtfully.

"You know him?" Hope entered Danny's voice.

"He goes by Phantom," the woman explained as she stood up straight, placing her hands on her hips. "We met him once. He wasn't all that bad once we actually sat down and talked."

"Why Phantom?" Danny frowned as he stared at the picture. He had hoped that these ghosts would be able to give him a real name, perhaps the name the ghost had when he was still alive.

The woman shrugged. "That's the only name he gave us. Not very creative. Being a ghost and calling himself Phantom."

The name Phantom was better than not knowing any name to call him. "Do you think I can get your picture?" Danny asked, returning the picture to his book bag then bringing out his camera. "I'm kind of making a scrapbook of all the ghosts I encounter."

"Oh! A picture!" The woman clapped her hands excitedly. She climbed back onto the back and wrapped her arms around the man's neck, smiling as she posed. The man didn't seem as happy about having his picture taken and glared at the camera with a grumpy frown. Danny adjusted his lens then snapped a picture of the pair.

"And if you're curious, I'm Johnny," the man said. "This is my girl Kitty." He smiled fondly at the woman behind him.

Danny stared at them before coming to the slow realization that the pair had probably been a couple before dying. He was curious about how they died, but he stopped himself from asking. Did ghosts remember how they died? Was it taboo to ask them about their deaths? He didn't want to cause any offense to them by asking sensitive questions.

"I'm Danny."

"Thanks for the tip on a spot to haunt, Danny." Johnny gave him a two finger salute then revved the engine of his motorcycle.

"Uh, before you go," Danny said with a wince and thought he would probably regret this, "could you return Calvin? I know he's a jerk, but having him just disappear off the face of the planet will only cause a lot of problems for everyone."

Kitty sighed. "Well, if you insist. But I think you're better off without him." She repeated her earlier action of blowing a kiss. Calvin suddenly materialized before them. He took one look at them then ran with a scream toward the back entrance of the school. "I guess he's not that much of a big bad jock after all." The corner of her mouth twisted into a smirk.

Danny tried not to laugh. "Thanks for your help." He waved as the pair of ghosts drove away on their motorcycle. Then he walked toward the school. He had a name to go with the mysterious white haired ghost. A smile spread onto his face at that fact.


	8. Chapter 8

Danny flipped through the multitude of pictures. Since his first sighting of a ghost, he had seen at least a dozen over the next week. Several of them were nice, or at least showed no interest in harming anyone. But after the information that Sam and Tucker gathered on Annalisa Johnson, aka Delilah Mills, Danny grew curious about the other ghosts that he encountered and dug into their history, when he had spare time after studying for school and keeping up with his photography job with the newspaper. He searched for anything that he could find on Phantom, but without a real name, he didn't have much to go on so couldn't uncover much information.

Danny did a search for anyone named Johnny and Kitty and came up with a couple of teenagers, eighteen and seventeen, who died about ten years ago. Their parents called them "troubled" and said they liked to hang out with a bad crowd. Kitty's parents stated that they always feared that Johnny would end up getting their daughter killed, claiming "bad luck" always seemed to follow him around like a shadow. On the night of their death, it had rained horribly, and the pair got into an accident while riding on Johnny's motorcycle. They were dead before the ambulance could even reach them, but according to the reports, Johnny had crawled his way over to where Kitty lay and died holding onto her hand. It was a tragic story, but Danny had to smile a little when he realized that they stayed together even in death.

There were a number of other ghosts that he encountered who all met terrible ends. One of them proclaimed himself the Box Ghost. His appearances were more irritating than terrifying with his constant shouting of "Beware!" and throwing around cardboard boxes. Danny gave a copy of the picture he took to Tucker and Sam. With some sort of facial recognition program, that Danny really didn't know how his friend got, Tucker managed to find an article on the man's death from about twenty-five years ago, but he couldn't find any hits when he tried with Phantom's picture. Bill Palmer was a thirty-something delivery man with a wife, who reported him missing shortly before Christmas. His wife was two months pregnant at the time. Bill's body was found later at the packing warehouse where he was buried under boxes and had his spine broken. After learning the truth behind the Box Ghost's death, Danny found it impossible to laugh like others when the ghost made one of his appearances and looked like a fool.

The truth behind the ghosts' deaths only made Danny feel like he was spiraling down a dark staircase into depression, but after he started down this path, he couldn't simply ignore the lives these ghosts once had. Mr. Carmichael, however, didn't care as much. Whenever Danny tried to give him the information that he discovered about the various ghosts that were now appearing all over town, Mr. Carmichael shooed him away with some nonsense about letting the real reporters write the stories. The stories, of course, all depicted ghosts in a bad light, making them out to be villains bent on terrorizing the people of Amity Park with the mysterious white haired ghost Inviso-Bill, they refused to listen to Danny when he told them the ghost was named Phantom, as their ring leader. Mr. Carmichael refused to let up on the whole concept that Phantom was some hero worship seeking villain, even after the forensic report came back from the fire saying that it was caused by a gas leak in one of the apartments that set the fire ablaze by accident when the occupant turned on the stove without knowing about the gas leak.

It frustrated Danny to no end to watch the way his photographs were twisted around to paint Phantom in a bad light. He was always right there when Phantom appeared on the scene. He saw how Phantom stopped robbers that broke into a jewelry store. He stumbled onto that event by mere accident when he passed through the shopping district of town on his way to one of his favorite spots to photograph the night sky. When the more violent of ghosts started stirring up trouble, Phantom would appear to stop them from harassing the people. Phantom was protecting the town, but the media seemed eager to crucify him for it. People had differing opinion of Phantom's activities. Those that were rescued by him tended to see him as a hero, as did many of the teenagers. Danny saw plenty of students at his school wearing shirts with Inviso-Bill written across them, though he wasn't sure where they got the shirts. Many of the adults, especially the police, considered Phantom to be a menace.

Each day, Danny noticed his parents seemed to grow more agitated about something each time Phantom appeared on the front page of the newspaper. He tried asking them about it once, but they brushed away the question, saying they had work to do. They even had whispered phone calls that they would immediately hang up on if they spotted Danny coming into the room. He tried to listen in on the calls, but his parents talked too softly for him to hear. They never seemed happy after they hung up the phone.

Lost in his thoughts, Danny didn't pay much attention to his surroundings. He slammed into something, or rather someone. They both fell to the ground with Danny's pictures spilling over the floor.

"Sorry!" Danny said immediately as he scrambled to pick up all his pictures before they could get trashed by the passing students in the hall.

"Sorry?" the woman shouted, and Danny snapped his head around to discover the identity of with whom he collided. He nearly winced when he spotted Valerie Gray sitting on the floor next to him with a stain of splattered coffee on her yellow top. "Do you even realize how much this shirt costs?" She glared, green eyes narrowing like daggers that made Danny cringe away from her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you like that," Danny apologized again.

Valerie crushed the paper cup in her hand, spilling some of what was left of the coffee onto the floor. "Calling it an accident doesn't change the fact that you ruined my shirt!"

"I'm really sorry, Valerie." Danny struggled, searching for an answer that quell the woman's rage. "If I could make it up to you somehow-"

"What is this?" Valerie's brow wrinkled, but the anger didn't leave her expression. She reached down to pick up the closest of the remaining pictures to her that was left on the floor.

"Ah, that's just, um," Danny said, flustered as his cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. Several of the pictures he had with him were from various ghosts that he had encountered recently, but most of his pictures were of Phantom. Sometimes he would just stare at those pictures, feeling silly but wanting to know more about the mysterious Phantom.

"This is that guy that's been all over the news recently." Valerie shot him a side glance as she held up the picture between two fingers. "Which means if you're the one taking the pictures, you're making quite a bit of money."

"Some money," Danny agreed uncertainly, quickly picking up the remaining pictures. When Danny reached out for the one in her hand, Valerie snapped it out of his reach.

"You have money. And this dry cleaning bill is bound to be expensive." Valerie stood up, holding the picture hostage from Danny. "You pay for it, and I _might_ forgive you for this incident."

"You _can't_ be serious!" Danny shouted as he shot to his feet, his own rage sparking. "I might be getting a little more money from my pictures being on the front page, but I'm not making _that_ much." Given that Valerie was a part of the A list which always wore high end clothing, Danny doubted that he could afford to pay the dry cleaning bill for anything that Valerie owned. Even if he somehow managed to pay the bill, he would probably end up completely broke afterward.

"Oh, what's this?" a woman questioned with an almost squeal in her voice. "Strife between students?"

"Who are you?" Danny asked at the same time as Valerie when they both turned to look at the woman that came up to them. He gave a shiver, wondering if the air conditioner in the school was somehow stuck on full blast. The school was unusual chilly since that morning.

The woman smiled at them, her red painted lips stretching wide in a look that almost seemed sinister to Danny. The way her red hair was styled up like twins horns that made Danny feel a little reminiscent of Maleficent from _Sleeping Beauty_ didn't help in making her look sweet and innocent.

"I'm Penelope Spectra," she answered, glancing over her glasses with eyes that were a touch too bright green. "I've taken over as student counselor here." She placed her hands on their shoulders and guided them down the hall. "And the two of you get to be my lucky first students. Isn't that great?"

"I don't need counseling," Valerie argued, pulling away from the woman's hold. "What I need is for this loser to pay the dry cleaning bill for the shirt he ruined." She glared darkly at Danny as if he was to blame for the involvement of the school's counselor.

"Maybe what you _really_ need is to talk about why you're so angry all the time," Ms. Spectra said as she forcibly guided Valerie into her office. Danny decided that was probably a good opportunity to sneak off, but the moment he started to inch away, Ms. Spectra's hand caught him in a tight grip that made him wince before she dragged him into the office too. The door closed after them, and it seemed to echo with its finality as if solidifying their eternal doom of suffering through counseling.

"I'm not _angry_ all the time." Valerie folded her arms with a darkening scowl upon her face.

Ms. Spectra glanced briefly toward Danny as the corner of her mouth quirked upward. "Right. Of course you're not," she said, using that unconvinced tone that most adults used when speaking with an unruly child. "But let's pretend for a moment that you are." She gestured to the seats before her desk. "Please. Have a seat."

"This is pointless," Valerie grumbled, but she sat down anyway, pointedly looking away from the counselor.

Ms. Spectra smiled in what she probably thought was a pleasant manner, but Danny found it rather unpleasant. She turned to him with an expectant look, and after an extended moment passed between them, Danny sighed and dropped into the other chair. "Now," Ms. Spectra said, folding her arms as she leaned back against the desk, "let's get down to the heart of the problem."

"The _heart_ of the problem is that this _loser_ ran into me," Valerie said, glowering at Danny, "and made me spill my coffee, ruining my shirt." She gestured with one arm to the coffee spilled all over her shirt.

"I _said_ I was sorry," Danny argued. "Why is it so hard for you to just accept that it was an accident and that I'm sorry it happened?" Sometimes the A list drove him crazy with their selfish thinking. Everything was always someone else's fault. The A list were never to blame. They were perfect, and everyone else was below them. Danny seethed at how they always thought only about themselves and never about how their actions affected those around them. There were exceptions, of course. Kwan tended to be nice to everyone, and it seemed Dash was turning away from his bullying ways, thanks to that little chat Danny had with him during their punishment. After that encounter with Johnny and Kitty, Calvin had avoided Danny with which he was perfectly fine.

"Excellent question!" Ms. Spectra turned to Valerie, and Danny's brow furrowed, wondering if he was seeing things. For a moment, he thought the woman actually looked a touch younger. "Why is it that you couldn't simply accept his apology and move on?" Her brows lifted, and she stared at Valerie in wait for an answer.

"Why _should_ I accept it?" Valerie countered.

"Because he apologized for the accident." The answer was simple, but Ms. Spectra could see as well as Danny could that Valerie thought the response was ridiculous. "You're letting the accident fuel this fire of anger inside of you. Why is it so important for you to cling to that anger?"

"I'm not clinging to anything." Valerie slouched a bit in her chair, hugging her arms around her. "And can we turn the heat up in here? I feel like I'm trapped in the freezer or something."

"You're clinging to something." Ms. Spectra smiled as she ignored the other question. "Something you clearly have been avoiding talking about for a very long time." She placed a hand to her chin as she considered what might be troubling the young woman. "Clearly no financial concerns, given how expensive your clothing is. Not to mention it looks like you use some fairly high end makeup." She breathed in deeply. "And is that the new perfume Forever Young? That's a pretty pricy perfume."

"I don't have to tell you anything."

"I'm a counselor. I'm here to listen to whatever problems you may have. I want you to feel like you can come to me with anything that's bothering you."

"The only thing bothering me right now is _you_." Valerie narrowed her eyes at Ms. Spectra, who merely continued to smile back at her.

Danny, meanwhile, shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Uh, maybe I should just-"

"A death in the family," Ms. Spectra said, cutting off Danny, who slouched down in his chair and banged his knee against the desk. In the chair next to him, Valerie stiffened visibly. "I would guess your mother. Am I right?"

Danny felt even more like he shouldn't be present for this conversation. It wasn't any of his business to hear about Valerie's mother dying, but it tickled his curiosity. He glanced toward Valerie, whose green eyes held a mixture of anger and sorrow. Ms. Spectra had definitely struck true with her guess.

"You're angry about her death," Ms. Spectra continued, and when Danny tried to, subtly, get up to leave, she pushed away from her desk and forced him to stay seated with a hand pushing down on his shoulder. "You jump at the chance to shout out that anger whenever any little thing sets you off because it's your only outlet for that anger. But if you don't let go of that anger, it's just going to eat you up inside. Try letting some of it go. Accept his apology for the accident."

"I _don't_ have to listen to you." Valerie got up from her chair, glaring icily at the counselor. After an uncomfortably long moment, she turned and walked out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

"That child." Ms. Spectra sighed with a shake of her head.

"Uh, are you sure you should have said all of that in front of me?" Danny asked in uncertainty. "That seemed really personal. I doubt Valerie wanted it announced in front of me that her mother died. And did you get younger?"

"Perhaps." Ms. Spectra frowned as she stared at the door to her office. "I thought perhaps I could get through to her." She tore her gaze away from the door to stare down at Danny. "Aren't you just the sweetest!" She pinched his cheek, and he flinched at the coldness of her hand. "How could someone get _younger_?"

"Yeah, but-" Danny was certain that the woman appeared younger now than when she first approached him and Valerie.

"But it's time for you to get to class," Ms. Spectra cut in again and shooed him toward the door. "I won't write you a late pass if you dawdle so you better hurry." She closed the door in his face, leaving Danny standing outside her office and feeling somewhat stunned. Was Ms. Spectra hiding something?

Shaking his head, Danny started walking down the hall with his brow knitting in his confusion. Ms. Spectra was right, though. He didn't want to arrive at his next class late. He hurried to his class, mulling over the strangeness of the encounter with their new student counselor.


	9. Chapter 9

"Did you guys know about Valerie's mother dying?" Danny asked, his gaze lingering on the woman sitting on the other side of the fast food joint. His view of the A list table was blocked every so often when people stood in line to order food. Valerie sat on the outside end of the booth with Paulina, of course, in the center as always and Star sitting by the window. The three women seemed to be chatting about something with a newspaper laid out before them. Dash and Kwan, meanwhile, were playing paper football in between bites of their burgers.

It was one of the rare nights when he had the chance to hang out with his friends without getting a call from Mr. Carmichael who had a new story that he needed to take pictures for or a massive amount of homework that cut into his time with friends. Sam and Tucker were enjoying their meals of a salad and a hamburger while Danny sat there with only a soda. Since he knew his mother would be at home working on dinner, Danny didn't want to order anything and ruin his appetite.

"I think it happened somewhere around fifth or sixth grade," Tucker said after swallowing his mouthful. He wiped his mouth clean on a napkin. "I remember she was out of school for a couple of days. I think it was cancer or something."

Danny tore his gaze away from the A list table, which was probably a wise thing to do before any of them looked over and caught him staring like an idiot. "I don't remember hearing about that." He frowned at his friends.

"Well, it's not like they broadcast it through the school." Tucker picked up his soda and took a drink of it.

"I didn't know about it either," Sam admitted, tossing a glance toward the popular table.

"Ms. Spectra thinks Valerie's still holding onto a lot of anger from her mom's death." Danny stared down at his soda, turning the cup in his hands. He tried to imagine what it would be like to lose either of his parents, and it felt like a wrenching in his heart. He doubted that pain of having a parent die would ever go away. Glancing at Valerie again, he wondered how she managed to go on with her life carrying that pain for a number of years. But maybe that was why she relied on anger. It helped to lessen the pain for a while. It wasn't the best solution though.

"Who's Ms. Spectra?" Sam asked, her brow creasing as she stabbed a piece of lettuce with her plastic fork.

"The new student counselor." Danny shrugged a shoulder. "I met her today when I accidentally bumped into Valerie and spilled her coffee over her. I apologized, but Valerie got all angry, so Ms. Spectra stepped in." He did feel a little guilty telling his friends about the experience, especially bringing up the death of Valerie's mother, but he tended to share everything with his friends. That wasn't sounding like a very good excuse in his head though. "It was kind of weird though. I swear when I left her office, she actually _looked_ younger."

Tucker and Sam exchanged a glance before they both turned back to Danny.

"You don't think she could be a ghost, do you?" Sam asked with suspicion heavy in her voice. Tucker already had out his cell phone and was furiously typing on the touch screen keyboard.

"I thought I felt a shiver when she first popped up, but the whole school had been cold all day." Danny frowned as he puzzled over that point. "Her hand was freezing when she pinched my cheek though."

"I wondered why it was so cold," Sam said. "I was thinking maybe the air conditioner was broken or something and stuck on full blast for some reason."

"Do you think she did it on purpose to keep people from realizing she's a ghost?" Danny asked. "People have kind of made that connection now that a chill usually means the presence of a ghost."

"Penelop Spectra?" Tucker asked. "Is that her?" He laid his phone out on the table so that they could all lean over to see the picture of the woman displayed on the screen.

Danny nodded, immediately recognizing that shade of red hair on the woman.

Tucker picked up the phone and scrolled through the information. "Penelope Spectra died thirteen years ago at the age of eighty-two. The picture shown is from when she was about twenty-nine."

"Wait." Sam looked as confused as Danny felt. "Did she look like that picture when you saw her?"

Danny nodded again. "But shouldn't she look how she did when she died?"

"You said she looked younger after you met with her though, right?" Tucker asked, and Danny nodded.

"So maybe she uses these little 'therapy' sessions somehow to make herself younger," Sam suggested. "Like somehow she's feeding off the students' energy that she talks to."

"I guess," Danny said with some reservations. "But it did seem like she cared about helping Valerie deal with her mom's death. So she can't be all bad, right? So she feeds on people's energy to look younger. Is that so bad as long as it doesn't harm them or anything?"

"But we don't know that it _doesn't_ harm the students somehow," Sam pointed out with her mouth pressed thin.

They had all come to learn a lot about ghosts since they first started appearing in town. The idea that ghosts worked on an obsession as presented in a thesis by someone twenty years ago seemed more logical the more they discovered about ghosts. Ms. Spectra's obsession could easily be about keeping her youthful beauty, which would explain her ability to feed on students' energy to appear younger. Danny understood Sam's concern because they really didn't know anything about how Spectra's ability would affect people. He hadn't noticed any change in Valerie, but maybe it simply wasn't something that happened right away but over time or it took a few sessions with Spectra to become noticeable. Still, Danny was hesitant to label her a threat if her counseling could help those that needed it.

"Should we tell the school about this?" Tucker asked, glancing worriedly between his friends. "They need to know, right? They should know they hired a ghost that could potentially harm the students, right?"

"I think we should talk to Principal Ishiyama tomorrow morning," Sam agreed, and they both turned to Danny with expectant looks.

Danny frowned, not feeling entirely right about the whole thing. "I don't know that that's entirely fair. If she's genuinely interested in helping the students and doesn't mean any harm, why should we interfere?" There was another exchange of glances between his friends, and Danny wondered what they talked about when he wasn't around because he was getting the feeling that he was usually the topic of discussion.

"Danny, we know that there are some ghosts that really don't want to do any harm to people," Tucker said with that irritatingly concerned frown on his face. "They just want to exist and be left alone. But that's not true of all ghosts, but sometimes you seem blinded about that fact."

"I'm not blinded!" Danny argued as anger began a slow burn through him. He knew quite well that there were some ghosts out there that enjoyed terrorizing the living. "Why don't you come out and say what you want to instead of beating around the bush?"

"Danny." Sam sighed as she reached out toward him, but Danny snapped his hand away and leaned back against the booth so that he would be out of her reach. She frowned at his reaction, drawing her hand back. "We're just worried that maybe," she winced, "you might be a little obsessed with this Phantom ghost."

"I'm not obsessed!" But Danny was now considering not sharing so much with his friends if they were going to treat him like he was some crazy stalker. He admitted maybe he was a tad bit more curious about Phantom than he should be, but he couldn't help his attraction to the mysterious white haired ghost. He _knew_ it was crazy to like a ghost, and he even tried to ignore it. But then he would catch sight of Phantom while taking pictures for the newspaper, and his heart would skip and he would take far too many pictures than necessary of the ghost. He, at least, kept that part secret from his friends.

"We get it, Danny," Tucker said, trying to calm the anger that burst out of his friend in his response. "We haven't been able to find anything on this ghost like we have with the other ghosts. You want to figure out what his story is. But maybe it's time to take a step back for a while. Clear your head a little."

Danny guessed he was happy his friends were being too dense to realize what was really causing his interest in Phantom. "I gotta go," he announced as he stood, leaving his soda half finished. "My parents are expecting me back in, like, five minutes for dinner. I'll see you at school." He gave them a wave then headed for the exit of the Nasty Burger. He was certain that his friends would be discussing that for the remainder of the night, talking about his reaction to their comments about Phantom. As long as they didn't start thinking that maybe he liked Phantom in some silly crush, Danny decided they could talk as much as they liked. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he started walking away from the Nasty Burger.

The comment about needing to get home for dinner wasn't a lie, but Danny took his time walking back to his house. He took the long way that added about fifteen or twenty minutes depending on how fast he decided to walk. His parents would probably be annoying and ask him what was wrong if he returned home in a grumpy mood, and Danny really didn't want to tell them about all the ghost research he was doing with his friends. Not when his parents got weird whenever ghosts came up in conversation or were featured in the newspaper. Danny's head cooled off a bit as he walked. He knew his friends were only concerned and looking out for him, but he got that ambushed feeling as if they were plotting for a while now how best to stage an intervention about his ghost obsession.

"My, my, Phantom," said a woman, whose voice was still quite familiar to him from some hours earlier at school. Danny froze when he heard Ms. Spectra speaking and tensed up when he heard the mention of Phantom's name. They were just up ahead, out of sight around the corner of a building that led into an alley. "It's always a pleasure to see you again. You sure you don't want to tell me all the things that are troubling you?"

"Spectra," the ghost said with a bit of a growl in his tone.

Danny inched closer toward the corner of the building, feeling a little guilty about the way only hearing Phantom's voice made his breath catch for a moment.

"Do we have to have another talk?"

Danny peeked around the corner and saw Ms. Spectra leaning up against the wall. Phantom stood before her with his arms folded and his green eyes narrowed. His bangs weren't slicked back anymore, now falling down to reach just past his chin. Danny was surprised when he spotted Phantom after the burning building accident to find his hair changed. He had thought that ghosts were static, but it seemed that ghosts were actually malleable, able to adopt differences in their appearances overtime. Was this a conscious decision for them? Or did certain changes occur without any sort of thought from the ghost?

Phantom's hair was slightly longer than his shoulders, and every time Danny saw the ghost, Phantom had his hair tied back in a ponytail. His outfit remained the same black and white color scheme with a touch of gray thrown in. There was a hood attached to his jacket, but Danny only saw the ghost wearing the hood up on one or two occasions.

Ms. Spectra sighed as she pushed away from the wall and stood with a hand on one hip that jutted out. Danny reached into his bag and retrieved his camera. Now that he was certain of her identity as a ghost, Danny wanted to make sure he caught a picture of her so that he could add her to his growing collection of ghostly knowledge.

"You don't have to be so intense all the time." Ms. Spectra smirked as she ran a finger along the underside of Phantom chin, which only seemed to annoy him. "I'm not about to stir up trouble so you can relax. I just want to start over with a new life. Some of the students here could really use someone to help them with their problems."

"And their angst makes for such a great spa treatment, I'm sure," Phantom said dryly.

Ms. Spectra shrugged as she pulled away her hand, and Danny made sure his flash was off before he adjusted the lens to start taking pictures. "You can't blame me for wanting to skim off a few years here and there."

"I also know that in this past year, you've had a problem keeping it to just 'skimming' as you say."

Ms. Spectra frowned, her expression souring. "That was an accident! You can't hold that over me for forever. Have I made that mistake since?"

"No," Phantom answered, "but I want to make sure you know I'm keeping a watch on you. The moment you take things too far, I _will_ be there to stop you."

Ms. Spectra huffed a sigh. "Sometimes I really regret ever meeting you. I promise I will do no harm to the students at the high school. My only intention is trying to help them."

"Good. Then hopefully I won't have to see you again."

"Not unless you wish to work out any of your own problems." Ms. Spectra's gaze slid away from Phantom, and Danny nearly dropped his camera when he thought for sure she looked his way. "I'm _always_ open to listening to people's problems." With a smirk, she gave Phantom a two finger salute before vanishing in a swirl of shadows.

The silence that fell after her departure felt like a thick blanket muffling his head. Danny swallowed as he realized it was basically only him and Phantom now, though he was the only one that knew that. He stared at Phantom through the lens of the camera, but the ghost didn't seem to have any intention of moving any time soon. What was Phantom thinking about right now, Danny wondered?

Suddenly, he felt like he was intruding on the ghost's privacy, and he backed up a step. The clatter of an aluminum can skidding across the sidewalk echoed loudly in the night after Danny's foot kicked it. He tensed up, cringing at the noise, and he took his gaze away for two seconds to glance at the can, silvery in color with the name only half visible on the side. When he snapped his head back around, he nearly jumped out of his skin to find those glowing green eyes right in front of him, staring rather intently at him.

"I'm sorry!" Danny blurted out, holding the camera up before his bowed head as if it would somehow shield him. He felt even sillier for responding like that. He had seen Phantom plenty of times since the burning building, but he never expected to actually _speak_ to the ghost. When his camera was pulled down away from his face, Danny swallowed thickly, nervousness bubbling up inside him as his cheeks warmed slightly. He must look ridiculous! He certainly felt ridiculous.

"Sorry for what?"

Danny dared to lift his blue eyes to sneak a glance at the ghost. He really did have a handsome face, and his eyes trailed along the strong jaw line to chin then to lips that tugged into a slight smile and up his nose until his glance became more than a glance as their eyes locked with each other. His heart skipped in his chest, and for a moment, he forgot that the ghost even spoke until Phantom leaned just a touch closer with an expectant look in his eyes.

"For, uh," Danny stalled, trying to remember what exactly was asked of him, "o-overhearing your conversation with Ms. Spectra."

"You know Spectra?" Expectance turned to curiosity, and Phantom didn't seem to have any understanding of personal space as he kept much too close to the man in front of him.

"She's a counselor at my school." Danny shifted his weight, moving back half a step as the closeness to Phantom was making it hard for him to think clearly. The air felt warmer than it should, and he realized he was blushing furiously, even his ears felt warm. Phantom seemed to move with him, refusing to let there be more space between them, and Danny wasn't sure what to think of that.

Phantom nodded, his gaze lowering briefly before returning back to Danny's eyes. "I've seen you before." He touched the camera. "You always turn up when I'm around hiding behind this. Such a shame when you have such a cute face."

Danny couldn't respond. His heart was beating so quickly he thought it would burst as a fluttering filled his insides. His face burned so brightly that he thought for certain that the blush would never again leave his face. He shook his head, tearing his gaze away from the ghost. What was he even to say to something like that? People weren't in the habit of calling him cute.

"Do you say that to every human you meet?"

"Only the really cute ones with eyes as bright as the clear blue sky." Phantom smiled, cupping his white gloved hand to Danny's blushing cheek and brushing his thumb under one eye.

Danny had to tear his gaze away before he did something pathetic like lean in to kiss the ghost. He shouldn't be having feelings like this toward a ghost, but he could feel Phantom's hand against his cheek, a solid weight as if the ghost could still be alive. But more importantly, neither of them really knew anything about the other. A relationship built solely on a physical desire wasn't want he wanted.

"You don't even know me," Danny said, turning his gaze back onto the ghost.

Phantom considered then nodded. "True." The corner of his mouth stretched into half a grin. "But I'd like to know more about my little photographer."

Danny felt his cheeks puffing out at the term. He was hardly little! He was gangly and tall! "Why?" he asked, distracting himself away from his mental grumbling at the term.

"You're always around taking pictures of me. I got curious about you." Phantom's hand slid away from Danny's cheek and down his neck, fingertips brushing over his flesh in a dance that made his skin tingle. "You seem to be interested in me."

Danny couldn't deny it even if he wanted to. "Perhaps I am," he said and immediately wanted to kick himself for saying something so dumb. "I'd like to get to know more about you. Perhaps we could start with a name? I'm Danny Fenton." His heart stopped in anticipation for Phantom response. Would he finally get to learn the ghost's real name?

"I'm Phantom. But according to Johnny, you already knew that." Phantom grinned as Danny hunched up his shoulders, looking away as his face returned to tomato red. He leaned in close, lips nearly brushing against Danny's ear as he whispered, "I'd like to meet again. Perhaps a date?"

Danny thought for sure he was going to die from shock. Did Phantom really just ask him out on a date? He kept trying to remind himself that Phantom was a ghost, but that fact hardly seemed to lessen his eagerness to say yes. "I should be free Saturday night. Assuming no news stories happen that night."

Phantom nodded as he stepped away, finally giving Danny some much needed space. "Saturday then. Where shall we meet, my little photographer?"

Danny flushed at the term. Maybe it was growing on him. He considered for some time, trying to decide where was best to meet. "Do you know the hill in the park? The one with the big tree on it?"

"I shall meet you there." Phantom took his hand, bowing lowly as he brought the hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on the back of it. When he stood up straight, he released his hold on Danny's hand and lifted into the air. "Until Saturday." With a wave, he flew higher into the sky until Danny lost sight of him among the stars.

"Oh, I'm in trouble," Danny breathed out even as the excitement filled him. He couldn't wait for Saturday to come!


	10. Chapter 10

Danny could hardly contain his excitement for his date, even though he realized how silly it was to date a ghost. Clearly, he had to have a wire, or a hundred, loose in his head if he was feeling attracted to someone that was dead. He stopped in the middle of the hall, a look of horror crossing his face. Did that make him some sort of necrophiliac? Danny raked a hand through his raven locks as that terrible thought rattled around in his head.

Okay. So he was attracted to Phantom, that much was completely undeniable. But he didn't feel attracted to _every_ ghost lurking around town. The ones that showed no hint of how they died and could look still very much alive all had varying degrees of attractiveness. Ms. Spectra was pretty, as was Kitty, and Johnny had that whole bad boy biker look going for him. But they didn't make Danny _feel_ anything toward them. Nothing except an interest in who they were and how they died. He didn't have some weird romantic obsession with all dead people. It was only Phantom.

Danny glanced toward the A list as he passed by them in the hall. Paulina had her locker open as she chatted with Dash and Kwan, all of them wearing their Dumpty Humpty shirts for the concert tonight. Plastered on the inside of her locker door, Danny spotted some newspaper clippings, all featuring his pictures of Phantom that made it onto the front page. He felt a small swell at pride to see his pictures there, even though he knew Paulina probably didn't even know or care about whom took them. But it was clear that he wasn't the only one taking notice of the ghostly hero. Paulina had even doodled little hearts all over the newspaper around Phantom, and Danny often heard Dash and Kwan talking about the ghost's heroic deeds. It seemed no one else got bent out of shape over the fact that Phantom was a ghost, or maybe they simply realized that any crushes they had on him were of the superficial nature.

Danny couldn't say the same about himself. He didn't really know much about Phantom beyond his heroic activities around town, and that Phantom apparently wasn't oblivious to Danny's constant presence whenever he was making news. He didn't know anything _real_ about Phantom, not even the name he had when he was alive, but that didn't stop the aching desire to get to know more about the ghost. Other than Phantom's not living status, everything seemed basically how a normal relationship between two people would start. Still, he couldn't get rid of the nagging whisper that said this was wrong, and it had nothing to do with the fact that they were two men.

When he neared his lockers, Danny frowned at his friends who were already waiting there. The determined furrow in Sam's brow and the sweating nervous shifting of Tucker's gaze stopped him before he could reach them. Something was up, and if the thought of being a necrophiliac hadn't crushed his happy mood already, Danny was certain this would have as he glanced between his friends.

"Tell me you didn't say anything," Danny begged as he closed the distance between them. His heart felt like it was sinking in his chest.

"Danny, she could be dangerous," Sam said firmly, not budging on her stance as she leaned against the lockers with her arms folded. She was one of the most stubborn people Danny knew, and once her mind was made up, it was impossible to get her to change it.

"Tuck," Danny pleaded, turning to his other friend in hopes that he might have a slightly better chance of convincing Tucker. "Ms. Spectra hasn't hurt _anyone_." At least not recently according to the conversation he overheard last night, though Danny certainly wasn't going to mention that to his friends. "Why are you so determined to ruin her before she's even done anything wrong?"

Sam pushed away from the locker, positioning herself right in front of Danny. "Because," she answered with a steely glare, "we can't wait for _when_ she hurts someone. It might be too late to do anything to stop her or protect that person if we just let her go about freely eating up people's energy."

"But she doesn't-" Danny shouted out in frustration but paused, running a hand through his hair as he scrambled for some way to reach his friends. "Maybe I _am_ a little too sympathetic toward ghosts, but you've read up on them as much as I have. You've seen the terrible ways they've died. Granted, Ms. Spectra's obsession seems to be keeping herself young and beautiful, but that doesn't mean her intention is to hurt people to achieve that. Can't you at least give her the benefit of the doubt?"

"Not when she's using people and feeding off them like this is an all you can eat buffet!" Sam screamed back, and they were drawing a fairly large crowd of onlookers with their yelling.

"Now, now," Ms. Spectra said, suddenly appearing in front of them, and Danny now understood how she was able to do that since she was a ghost. "What's all this yelling about?" She smiled pleasantly as her green eyes drifted among the three friends. From the look in her eyes, Danny suspected Ms. Spectra already had a fairly good idea about what he and Sam were yelling.

"Everyone out of the way! Step aside! Clear the way!"

The group turned to see what this new shout was about, and Danny felt dread snaking up through him as he tried to swallow it down again. Two men elbowed their way through the crowd of students. They wore white suits and sunglasses that gave them the appearance of those FBI or CIA or whatever bodyguard type agents for the government. Somewhere in his head, Danny snorted at the sunglasses. Didn't these men realize they looked ridiculous wearing sunglasses indoors? They had some sort of pack strapped to their backs and held something that reminded Danny a lot of the long handle on a vacuum cleaner that was meant to reach up high or under things like couches. It also vaguely reminded him of those old movies, and he thought there was a cartoon of it too, with the four men living in some old firehouse type building.

The two men stopped before them, and Danny didn't miss the way Ms. Spectra inched around the three friends to put distance between her and the two men. Whoever they were, Ms. Spectra wanted to avoid them. One of the men, the dark skinned one as skin tone was really the only difference between the two bald men, pulled something out of his suit pocket and held it up before him. It looked like a small metal box with two sensor rods sticking out one end. It made some strange whirring and beeping noises, and the two men exchanged glances.

"They were right to give us a call," the dark skinned man said as he shoved the device back into his pocket. "This spectral scum is dangerous. We should eliminate it at once to avoid any further damage to the school." The way he spoke was as if he and his partner were the only two there, instead of the crowd of students all watching in wonderment at their appearance in the school.

The term eliminate resonated inside him, echoing in his ears. Panic surged up through him as he watched, almost in slow motion, as the two men lifted the ridiculous vacuum cleaner looking attachments toward Ms. Spectra. Danny didn't know what those things did, but the dread inside him said it couldn't be good. These men were here for Ms. Spectra. They wanted to _eliminate_ her. That could only be a bad thing. The two men had their weapons, because that was all Danny could imagine they were at this point, raised and aimed at Ms. Spectra, whose green eyes were wide with terror. His body acted without thought or hesitation and threw itself to the side to protect the ghost. Twin blasts slammed into his chest with enough force to make him feel like his ribs were smashed and his lungs crushed flat, pushing out every last bit of air inside them. He probably would have collapsed onto the ground right then if Sam and Tucker hadn't immediately grabbed hold of his arms to support him. His vision was blurry for several moments, but he could hear the gasps and whispers in a rush of noise all around him. That was probably one of the dumbest things that he had ever done, but when he felt Ms. Spectra's cold hand against his back, he was glad he did it. She was safe because he had acted.

"What do you think you're doing?" someone shouted over the noise of the hall, and after a moment, Danny realized it was Dash. He forced his eyes to focus as he turned his gaze back to where the two white suited men stood. Dash stood next to them with fury in his dark blue eyes.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked in concern.

"Breathing hurts," Danny wheezed, and his chest ached with each intake of air. Hurt was a gross understatement. His shirt felt damp, and he really hoped that wasn't from blood, but he was too scared to actually look so he kept his gaze on Dash.

"You could have killed him with whatever _this_ is!" Dash continued shouting at the men as he smacked the vacuum like handle of their weapon.

The pale skinned man shoved Dash back a step, and Kwan was there to catch his friend. "We are government officials. It would be wise for you not to harass us, or we'll be forced to _deal_ with you." The way he said it sent chills through Danny. It was like the man wanted everyone to believe that he would kill Dash if the jock stood in their way.

"As for your friend here," the dark skinned man said, and Danny almost laughed because he and Dash were hardly anything like friends, "it's his own fault for getting in our way."

Danny pulled his arms free, managing to stand steady on his feet. Or at least enough so that he didn't pitch forward and do a spectacular face plant into the floor. His eyes narrowed at the two men in white, and he was working up an angry retort to shout at them when someone else spoke first.

"Since when do you stand up for a loser?" Valerie questioned, standing beside Dash with her eyebrow raised at him.

"When goons in white turn up and nearly shoot some weird green stuff clear through the loser," Dash replied with a harsh growl in his voice. Valerie didn't look convinced of his answer, so Dash tried another tactic. "Hey, if you were angry at Fenton for getting coffee all over your shirt, I think that stuff," he pointed at the hem of her shirt, "is probably going to be a lot harder to get out."

Valerie dropped her gaze to the hem of her shirt and gasped at the stain of green... _stuff_ splattered on it. Danny wasn't entirely sure what that green stuff was, but it oozed somewhat, dripping off her shirt and onto the floor and her shoes. "Ugh!" Valerie shouted then snapped green eyes onto the men. "Apologize!"

The two men turned the heads and exchanged glances. At least, Danny assumed they did since he couldn't really tell where they were looking while they wore their dumb sunglasses. Neither of them seemed to know how to respond to the order of a teenage woman.

"Miss, we-"

"Apologize!" Valerie demanded again in a much louder voice. Like everyone else, Danny could only stand there stunned by Valerie, who was shouting at government agents who could probably "disappear" her without much effort and make the name Valerie Gray all but a memory to the people of Amity Park.

"What in _The Crucible_ is going on out here?" Lancer pushed his way through the crowd to stand within the circle of surrounding students. His green eyes flicked around, taking in what was happening as his mouth thinned most unhappily. Then his gaze turned onto the two men in white as he awaited an answer.

"We were contacted about a spectral outbreak within the school," the pale skinned man explained. "We'll have things cleaned up here shortly, Sir."

"Get out," Lancer shouted, surprising many of the students in the hall.

Both men hesitated when they were about to take aim at Ms. Spectra again. "Sir, we-"

"GET OUT OF MY SCHOOL!" Lancer's roar made everyone flinch.

"Sir, that is a ghost masquerading as a human," the dark skinned man said, but Lancer merely glared back in response. "Sir, it's our job to remove such threats from the town."

Lancer stepped up to them, and despite being middle aged, balding, and out of shape with a belly that hung over his belt, he looked rather intimidating in that moment. "I don't care who you are or what your job is. This is my school, and I asked you to leave. As for Ms. Spectra, I hardly care if she is a ghost or purple polka dotted alien with two heads, five arms, and a tail. Do you think I am some incompetent teacher who is incapable of doing something as simple as a background check on people before hiring them? I was aware that Ms. Spectra was a ghost. After all, the records showed that Penelope Spectra died thirteen years ago, and there are pictures of her from her younger days to show that this woman was indeed the same one. Her records also indicated that she was a fine student counselor up until she retired, and _that_ is what I cared about when I decided to hire her. If she can reach out and help the students here that need it, then I don't really care that she is a ghost."

"Sir, the principal of this school contacted us-"

"And I shall be having a word with her later," Lancer cut the man off, continuing his act of intimidation. "Now I ask you to apologize to my students then leave before I contact your boss and inform him or her that your actions led to the injury of one of my students."

The two men stared at him as a tense silence fell over the hall. After several moments of reluctance, the two men turned to Valerie. "We apologize for the damage done to your shirt," they said together, which Danny found slightly eerie.

Valerie glared at them, hands balled white knuckle tight at her sides. "Thank you. I accept your apology."

Danny blinked, wondering if he was hit again by the men's weapons because he _felt_ like he was winded by his shock. Valerie had just accepted an apology? Danny's mind was spinning over that fact. Had Ms. Spectra somehow gotten through to Valerie? Was this a sign of that Valerie was turning over a new leaf and learning to let go of her anger?

When the two men turned to vacate the school, Lancer cleared his throat loudly to gain their attention again. "Excuse me, but you have one more apology to make." Lancer turned halfway and gestured toward Danny, who really didn't care if the men apologized for shooting him in the chest so long as they left Ms. Spectra alone.

What could be seen of the men's faces contorted, and they looked far more reluctant to make apologies to Danny, who acted to stop them from hurting the ghost. "We apologize for any injury that befell you."

Danny would have loved to simply reject their apology, but he had a sneaky suspicion that the men wouldn't have cared either way. "Accepted," he said, teeth clenching somewhat as his blue eyes narrowed at the men. Only then did Lancer allow the men to leave the school.

"You knew?" Sam demanded of Lancer once the men in white suits were out of sight. "You knew that Ms. Spectra was a ghost but you still allowed her to be a counselor here?" She looked utterly flabbergasted by that fact.

"Yes, I knew what she was." Lancer stared down at Sam, his mouth pulling thin as if to say he didn't appreciate that she thought he was too dense to realize the truth. "I talked to her directly about the fact that she was a ghost before agreeing to let her be a counselor. She explained to me that part of her abilities as a ghost is to feed on the negative emotions of teenagers. This concerned me, but she has assured me that the affects are not noticeable if she's careful about how much she feeds on and that she has no intention of causing any great harm to my students. I decided to give her a chance, but at the first sign that she's not complying with our arrangement, I will have her removed."

"Principal Ishiyama didn't have any knowledge of this," Sam murmured, completely surprised by Lancer's response.

"She left hiring a new counselor up to me. I didn't feel it necessary to include that Ms. Spectra is a ghost so long as she did her job well and caused no harm to my students." Lancer glanced around at all the staring students. "Class is starting in a few minutes. You all better get to class because I will not be allowing any excuses for being tardy." That announcement got students moving as they hurried off to their first class.

"I'm sorry for causing all this trouble," Ms. Spectra said, her brow creasing with worry as she stared at Danny.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have kept the truth hidden," Lancer said as he stepped up to Danny, who really wasn't feeling like going to class at the moment. "We could have saved ourselves all this trouble." He placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. "I think perhaps you should pay a visit to the nurse's office. I'll inform your teacher of your absence."

"We'll go with him," Sam and Tucker said at once.

"No," Lancer said firmly. "You will head straight to class." He glared sternly down his nose at them until Sam and Tucker reluctantly turned to head for class.

"I'll make sure he gets to the nurse's office," Ms. Spectra said, and Lancer considered her for a moment then nodded.

Danny made a face as they started walking down the hall. Now that everything was over, the pain in his chest seemed to double, and he felt like wheezing with each breath.

"I'm sorry you had to get hurt," Ms. Spectra said, sincerity in her voice as they walked alone through the hall toward the nurse's office. "But I appreciate you standing up for me like that. Even though you overheard that conversation with Phantom."

Danny winced. Of course she knew he was there. He was right when he thought she looked right at him. "Do you mind if I ask what exactly happened?"

Ms. Spectra frowned as she stared ahead of them. "I got sloppy." She sighed heavily. "I was at a school up around Wisconsin somewhere, and-" She stopped and turned to face Danny. "There's a hunger sometimes that comes with being a ghost. When we expel too much energy or are badly injured, we can recover quicker if we feed-"

"On people?" Danny's eyes grew wide in horror.

Ms. Spectra blinked then laughed, and the smile on her face made him relax somewhat. "No, we feed off ectoplasm. It fills our lairs, so when we need to recover, going back to our lairs is the best place for it. But sometimes, we feel this sudden need to eat. We call it ghost hunger. I sort of have a little problem with it because I don't just feed on ectoplasm. I feed on the energy human's give off. Teenagers simply give off the best with all that angst you have." She smirked a little. "So sometimes when that hunger comes over me, I feed on more energy than I should. And," she winced, "that can have terrible affects on the person."

"Like what?"

"The girl I was counseling had poor self esteem and body issues, and when I fed too much on her, it led to her becoming depressed enough to try to take her own life."

Danny gaped at her, unable to think of a response in his shock. "She died?"

Spectra shook her head. "Phantom was around at that time, and he managed to get her the help that she needed before it was too late. But he swore if I ever allowed my hunger to control me like that again, he wouldn't hold back, so I've been watching myself to make sure I never do that again. When I start to feel that hunger again, I leave for a while until the urge has passed and I can safely be around humans again."

Danny nodded, absorbing all that she told him as Ms. Spectra guided him down the hall again. Nothing in what they read on ghosts suggested anything about them suffering from "ghost hunger," but most of the research was merely theories about ghosts without real hard proof to back it up. Obviously, there was a lot that they didn't know about ghosts until they actually talked to them to better understand them.

"Wait." Something about the conversation caught his attention, and Danny glanced at Ms. Spectra. "You said you were in Wisconsin. But... then ghosts haven't just recently been popping up?"

Ms. Spectra laughed, shaking her head. "Ghosts have appeared in the real world for years, centuries actually. Don't they have those silly ghost hunting shows nowadays?"

"I - Well, yeah." Danny's brow furrowed as they stopped in front of the nurse's office. "But there weren't ghosts here in Amity Park until just recently."

"Or maybe there were." Ms. Spectra smirked cryptically. "Now, you let the nice nurse fix you up. After all, you don't want to skip out on your date because you're laid up with broken ribs or something."

Danny turned toward the door but then paused. "You know about the date?" His cheeks warmed as his stomach twisted, which didn't feel good with his aching ribs.

"Mmhm. It's the current talk among us ghosts. Phantom going on a date with a human. That's big news."

"Oh god," Danny groaned as a thought occurred to him. "You're all going to be stalking us, aren't you?"

"I'll try to convince them to leave you two alone." Ms. Spectra ruffled his hair before she wiggled her fingers then headed down the hall.

Danny groaned as he entered the nurse's office. He was already nervous and excited about the date with Phantom. He didn't need the added pressure of knowing that other ghosts might be lurking around to spy on their date.


	11. Chapter 11

"I'm really sorry about what happened," Sam apologized for what Danny suspected was the hundredth, if the not the five hundredth, time since Friday morning. "I didn't mean to cause all of that, or for you to get injured." She looked really guilty, and even Tucker in the next window on his computer shared her guilt. "I just," she shrugged helplessly, "I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought it would be protecting the other students. I thought Principal Ishiyama would just ask Ms. Spectra to leave. I didn't think she'd call in people to - to _eliminate_ her! I just didn't want Ms. Spectra to hurt anyone! I didn't want her destroyed or anything."

Danny held back a sigh at listening to Sam give her apology yet again. It was a little tiring, but he understood that she was feeling terrible after what happened Friday morning. After his visit to the nurse's office where she told him he was lucky to only have bruised ribs, word about Ms. Spectra being ghost was spread all over school. Many students were wary of the idea that a ghost, with the ability to feed off their emotions, would be counseling them. Lancer held a school assembly to address the issue, and Principal Ishiyama was apparently in a rather foul mood the whole time. There were whispers that she wanted Lancer to fire Ms. Spectra and get the ghost out of her school, but Lancer refused, standing firm in his belief that Ms. Spectra could do a lot of good for the students of Casper High.

The day ended with a shock for Danny when Valerie bumped into him before he could leave. She actually offered an apology for behavior the day before, though there was some strain to it as if she was still struggling with her anger which made apologizing difficult. Danny was happy to accept and apologized again for ruining her shirt, promising to be more careful next time so that he didn't bump into her again. He agreed with Lancer. Ms. Spectra could help a lot of students.

"I know," Danny said, putting on a smile. "You wouldn't have done something like that if you weren't concerned about the safety of people. But I do wish you had listened to me. We could have talked to Ms. Spectra _first_ instead of going straight to Principal Ishiyama. You would have seen that she wasn't going to use her ghost powers to harm anyone."

"I know." Sam bowed her head in shame. "I just panicked. There have been quite a few ghosts that have done damage to the town, and none of them cared at all who got hurt. It's not like ghosts have a conscience."

Danny frowned at that last comment. "Just because they're dead, that doesn't mean they don't have feelings, Sam. Yes, some of them throw away their humanity and act like monsters, but that generalization isn't true of all of them."

"Danny, I-"

"Sam, maybe you should just drop it," Tucker cut in with a wince. "Look, Danny. We're sorry. We didn't mean for any of that to happen. And we're really sorry that you ended up getting hurt."

Danny sighed, letting some of his anger go, but he nodded. "Yeah, I forgive you two. But next time, don't do something like that when you have no evidence that the ghost is going to hurt anyone. Okay?" He smiled when both his friends nodded and agreed. His gaze glanced to the clock in the corner of his screen, and he realized how late it had gotten. "Sorry to cut the call short, but I should focus on homework."

Tucker groaned, remembering his own homework that needed to get done. His window closed after he said a quick goodbye. Sam continued to give him that worried, fretful look, but Danny assured everything was all right between them. After exchanging goodbyes, he closed her window then stood and stretched. He winced as his ribs ached, still feeling sore after those two men blasted him in the chest. Rubbing a hand to his chest, Danny frowned. When he returned home after school yesterday, his parents sat him down, fussing over him with worried expressions. That was his first clue that the school called them to inform them about his injury.

His parents wanted a good look at the damage to exam the extent of it. Under the bandages that the nurse wrapped him in, his chest was dotted with ugly bruising that were stained with green from the gooey substance that was shot at him. His parents forced him to go upstairs and take a shower at once, and when he came out of the bathroom, he found that his clothes from that day were gone. When he questioned his mother about it, she acted like she had no idea what he meant. Adding to the already weird behavior, he caught his parents whispering on the phone again with angry expressions on their faces. He really wished he had some clue with whom they were speaking and about what they talked.

Shaking his parents' odd behavior from his mind, Danny left his room and walked down the hall to the bathroom for a quick shower. His chest still looked terrible with the day old bruises that didn't look like they had healed at all since he checked them that morning. He made quick work of washing up in the shower, scrubbing his body clean with a scented soap that reminded him of fresh cut grass. He always liked that smell even if it brought to mind too many hours of chores that involved having to mow their lawn. It also reminded him of nights laying in the grass and staring up at the stars with his mother pointing out the various constellations to him. He always smiled at that memory.

Once he was clean, Danny headed back to his room to get dressed. He spent the majority of his Saturday distracting himself, getting his homework done early, finishing up any chores his parents wanted him to do, chatting with Jazz as usual to keep in touch. His sister wasn't buying Dash's nice guy act just yet, stating that it would take more than one instance of standing up for her brother to make her think that he had changed for good. Danny pointed out that Dash should at least earn a few extra points for that one instance though since Dash stood up against government agents that probably could have locked him up for doing that. Jazz considered but eventually gave in and agreed with his point.

But now his mind was fully focused on one thing: it was Saturday night. He was about to leave and meet up with Phantom in the park, and remembering that brought back all his nervous excitement. First, however, he needed something to wear. After searching through his closet and drawers for a while, Danny couldn't find anything that he thought was really date worthy. Everything seemed too casual and every day, or he started to think that he looked horrible in some of them. He wasn't fully satisfied with the outfit he chose in the end. The dark blue jeans fit snuggly, which made him feel a little awkward, but he didn't think wearing baggy clothing was appropriate for a date. He grabbed an average white shirt and yanked on a black plaid shirt that he left unbutton over it.

"Maybe I need some new clothes," Danny mumbled as he glanced himself over in the mirror hanging on the back of his closet door. But he tended to put his money away toward other things than clothing, like buying a new camera because his current one was getting a bit on in age or perhaps finally saving up enough to buy a car or some other form of transportation. He did need new clothes though, eventually at least. "Whatever!" He shook his head as he grabbed his bag, slinging it across his chest. "This will do for now." It was a date, but he didn't know exactly what they were going to do on it, so he wasn't sure how fancy or casual his outfit should be.

After tugging on his shoes, Danny left his room and headed downstairs. He almost made it to the front door before his parents caught him. Or more specifically, his mother.

"Where are you going?" his mother asked from the front room. "I was just about to start on dinner."

Danny winced before he turned and went to stand in the doorway to the front room. Papers were spread out on the table with lots of markings on them that Danny couldn't read, and probably wouldn't have understood if he could read them. His father had a few pages in his hand as he pressed the capped end of a pen into his chin right under his lower lip. A look of deep concentration was on his face, his blue eyes narrowing at whatever was on the papers he held. His mother, meanwhile, finished marking off something on one paper that was filled with red writing and symbols. Then she gathered up the papers nearest her and sorted them into a neat stack.

"I was just going to go out for a while," Danny explained, shoving his hands into his pockets as he tried not to give away any of his nervousness about the date. "You know, grab some food with friends, hang out and talk, do normal teenage stuff, maybe see if I can get some nice shots of the sky tonight."

His mother frowned when she lifted her gaze to him. She seemed a little disappointed that he wouldn't be joining them for dinner, but she nodded. "Don't be late for curfew." She gave him a stern stare. "How are your ribs feeling? Are they still pretty bruised? Do you need us to give them another look?"

Danny shook his head. "They're still a little sore, but it's not too bad. I'll be fine. You know, as long as I don't jump in front of two guys firing some weird green goo again." He shrugged with a laugh, but he still had to take it easy because certain movements reminded him just how much getting shot in the chest hurt.

"He's a Fenton," his father said, grinning as he finally tore his gaze away from the papers. "Fenton's are strong." He laughed as something funny entered his mind. "Remember that time when the-"

"Jack," his mother said, her mouth pursing as she gave him a firm glare that quickly shut him up, "we can't talk about that. Remember?"

"Oh! Right!" His father laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away.

Danny's brow wrinkled as he wondered what secret his father was about to reveal just then. Even if he tried to ask, they wouldn't let anything slip, so he decided to simply ignore it. "Well, I'm heading out now. I'll be back by curfew."

"Have fun!" his parents called as their son headed out the front door.

Danny walked toward the park, trying to keep to a slow, controlled pace. His excitement urged him to race straight for the park at top speed so that he could meet Phantom again quicker, but his nervousness about making a fool of himself on the date told him not to rush. The sun had already set, casting Amity Park in a blanket of darkness as the street lamps bloomed into light. He passed several people along the way, the Saturday night people loitering around as they tried to think of some way to spend their party night. They ignored him, and Danny was glad for that because he didn't care to be harassed by anyone.

When he reached the park, he made a beeline for the hill with the tree where he arranged to meet up with Phantom. He spotted fewer people while he walked through the park. Mostly, they were couples, probably wanting a little quiet romantic stroll through the park before going to dinner. A small blush rose to his cheeks when that idea passed through his head since he was there to meet for a date too. Hunching up his shoulders, he walked a bit faster, keeping his head down as he passed by the couples being all cozy with each other as they strolled along the path. In minutes, he reached the hill and walked up to the tree then leaned against it. It was a nice night, and as usual, the vantage point from the hill allowed him to see several constellations.

"And here I thought I would arrive first."

The whisper came right in his ear, and Danny jumped in surprise, stumbling a step away from the tree. He flushed darkly, tugging on the ear as he glanced over to see Phantom hanging upside down with his ponytail dangling behind his head. The ghost smiled at him, one corner twisting upward in an expression that caused Danny to shift with a flustered feeling. After turning right side up, his feet touched the ground.

"I was," Danny said, twisting at the strap of his bag, "really excited about the date." He wondered how red his face was because it felt like he had turned the shade of tomato with how much he was blushing.

"That makes two of us then." Phantom lifted a hand and brushed some raven hair back behind Danny's ear, and the human shivered at the light touch. Or perhaps a little because the presence of a ghost always made him shiver. His smile fell as worry entered his green eyes. "Spectra told me about what happened yesterday. I was really worried about you. I wanted to rush over and check on you, but Spectra told me I shouldn't hover too much and bother you. Does it still hurt? I couldn't believe you actually jumped in the way to protect her. Humans don't usually act to save a ghost."

Danny dropped his gaze, feeling embarrassed for another reason. "My ribs still hurt a bit, but it's okay." He hugged an arm around his waist. "I guess it was kind of a stupid thing to do, but when I saw those guys in white aiming at Ms. Spectra, I-" He shrugged. "I couldn't allow them to hurt her. They said they were going to _eliminate_ her. I don't know who those men were, but eliminating a ghost who isn't harming anyone is something I can't stand for."

"You're a strange human." Phantom stared at him, but Danny wasn't certain how to take the statement. "I like that." The ghost smiled. "You didn't let yourself be blinded by the fact that she is a ghost and acted to protect her. That speaks a lot toward your character. And I thank you for looking out for her." He took Danny's hand and kissed the back of it like he did the other night when they spoke to each other for the first time.

"I was just doing what I thought was right. Or well, unconsciously believed to be right. My body sort of moved on its own." Danny needed to change the topic before Phantom's praises and kisses turned him permanently red from blushing. "Um, so, did you have an idea for this date? I guess dinner is sort of out. Ms. Spectra told me about the ghost hunger thing. I don't really know where we'd get some ectoplasm though. Are you even able to eat real food? Does that have some sort weird reaction if you eat it?"

"I've never actually tried to eat real food," Phantom said, tilting his head as a curious expression crossed his face. "I usually just survive by replenishing my energy by eating ectoplasm. But we could go for food if that is what you wish. We can still speak while you dine."

Danny stared at Phantom then lowered his gaze. "Um, is there a way for you to disguise yourself?" He bit his lip as he glanced back up. "You've become pretty famous, and we'd never have a moment's peace if people saw you. You're like a celebrity. They'd all want to talk to you and stuff."

Phantom stood, crossing an arm over his chest as he held his other hand over his mouth with a thoughtful expression. "We could pick something up then," he suggested, dropping his arms. "I'll go with you, while invisible, and once you have your dinner, we'll find a nice quiet place where it can be just the two of us."

"O-Okay." Danny felt a little silly. If he had simply prepared something beforehand, they wouldn't have to worry about picking up a dinner for him. But he already skipped out on dinner with his parents, and he didn't think he could go the whole night without eating. "Well, I guess we can just get Nasty Burger. I don't really have a lot of spare cash."

"Whatever you wish to have." Phantom's smile was the last thing Danny saw before the ghost vanished. But Danny could feel the ghost's presence as Phantom kept close to him. Phantom stood directly behind him, and Danny could feel his breath against his neck, ruffling the hair upon it. Swallowing nervously at the nearness of the ghost, Danny led the way toward the Nasty Burger. It was an awkward journey, and as much as he tried to ignore it, Danny couldn't put it out of his mind that the ghost he was crushing on was at his back the whole time.

The Nasty Burger was busy, of course. Saturday was a pretty big night, along with Friday night, when all the students at Casper High had the chance to hang out and goof off without worrying about having homework due the next day. Danny got in line, feeling a bit impatient with the wait. He wanted to hurry up and get his food so that he could go back to spending his date alone with Phantom. As he waited on his order to be ready, he flinched when someone suddenly leaned against the counter next to him. When he glanced over, he sighed in relief to see it was only Dash.

"Not with your usual tagalongs?" Dash lifted an eyebrow, surprise in his blue eyes.

"Do I need to get rid of him?" Phantom questioned lowly, his breath washing over Danny's ear, and Danny could almost feel those invisible lips brushing over the curves of his ears.

Danny shook his head. "Just me tonight," he said, a bit of strain in his voice. If Phantom didn't have any restraint, the ghost could make things really awkward for him, and Danny was glad no naughty thoughts were tempting Phantom at the moment. "Uh, so did you guys enjoy the concert? That was last night, right?"

Dash nodded. "Yeah, it was great. So," he drew out the word, turning to lean back against the counter as he stared up at the ceiling, "have you talked to your sister lately?"

Danny rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help a small smile slipping onto his face. "I told her how you stood up against those guys. But you're going to have to do a lot more to convince her to say yes to dating you." He had never seen Dash's face turn that red.

"I'm working on it," Dash mumbled, hunching up his shoulders, and it was strange seeing the confident jock being awkward.

Danny smiled politely as the blonde employee handed him his order in a white paper bag. "I'm sure she'll be happy to know that, though she might be disappointed that all her efforts before she went to college didn't seem to do anything."

Dash shrugged. "Sometimes you just gotta have the right incentive. And sometimes you don't realize it until it might be too late." He shook himself as he pushed away from the counter as if shaking away that unusual insightful moment. "Anyway, here." He held something out to Danny.

"Uh, what is this?" Danny's brow creased as he took the rolled up scroll of glossy paper.

"Well, Paulina managed to sneak us into the backstage area. I don't even know how she did it." Dash shrugged with a look like he didn't want to know either. "Anyway, Kwan wanted to give that to Sam, but he figured it would come off better if you gave it to her instead. She still likes Dumpty Humpty, right? He got the poster signed by the members made out to her."

Danny blinked several times as he tried to digest what Dash just said. "Uh, yeah, Sam still likes them." He couldn't think of anything else to say, too surprised by the fact that Kwan would actually think to do that. Kwan was always nice, but going out of his way to get a signed poster for a band someone liked that he wasn't actually friends with seemed far too nice of him. "I'll be sure to give this to her."

Dash nodded. "Right." Then he nodded again. "Yeah. Well, I should get back to my friends and let you do, uh, whatever you were doing." He turned and walked back to where the A list usually sat, leaving Danny still in his shock.

"Is everything all right?" Phantom questioned, giving Danny's shoulder a small squeeze.

"Y-Yeah. Just - That caught me by surprise. Dash and I aren't exactly friends," Danny mumbled quietly, hoping no one overheard him and thought he was crazy and talking to himself. With the poster and dinner in his hands, he headed out of the Nasty Burger. "Not too long ago," he explained once they were outside, "Dash used to bully me. But since he's got a crush on my sister and she won't date a jerk, he's actually trying to change."

"Love can do many strange and wonderful things to a person." Phantom sneaked a kiss to Danny's cheek, smiling as he did so.

Flustered, Danny stumbled over his words. "Uh, so, um, w-where should we go now?"

"Hm," Phantom hummed in Danny's ear as his arms slipped around the human's waist, hugging him close and increasing the fluttering sensation inside Danny. "Some place where we can be alone and no one else can interrupt our date."

Danny gasped when it felt like icy crawled over his entire body. Phantom suddenly lifted him into his arms, and Danny feared someone seeing him floating there. But when he looked down at himself, he found he couldn't even see his body. He was invisible! And the ground was getting farther away! Danny almost yelped out loud as he wrapped his arms around Phantom's neck and clung to the ghost as the world fell away and they flew away from the Nasty Burger. After he got over the fright of the experience, his mouth stretched widely across his face as he enjoyed the exhilaration of flying around Amity Park.


	12. Chapter 12

"So you've had run ins with these Guys in White before?" Danny questioned before stuffing a ketchup covered fry into his mouth. "And, by the way, what a lame name!" After picking up dinner for him, Phantom flew them off to someplace where they could be alone, which turned out to be on the rooftop of the old clock tower that people didn't bother to visit very often.

For a while, Danny ate in awkward silence before fumbling for any topic of conversation. Phantom seemed content enough to simply sit and watch him until prompted to speak. Apparently, Phantom had already known about Danny, which only brought the blush back to the human's face. He had talked with Johnny shortly after Danny ran into the biker ghost and his girlfriend Kitty, and Johnny told Phantom about a strange human that seemed to have an interest in ghosts. With a small blush that made his cheeks glow green that Danny found cute, Phantom admitted that might have helped him take notice of Danny when he spotted him around and taking photographs.

Phantom lifted his gaze away from examining Danny's camera. After Danny talked a bit about his interest in photography, Phantom displayed curiosity about it, so Danny allowed him to look at the camera. He made a teasing comment when he turned the camera on Danny earlier, pretending like he was about to take a picture of the human. Danny protested out of embarrassment and prayed he didn't have anything on his face from eating his hamburger.

"Yeah," Phantom answered, lowering the camera then placing it between them on the ledge of the roof. He was careful to make sure it wouldn't fall and smash to pieces on impact from the height, which Danny was thankful for as that camera was currently his only means of making money. "The first time I ran into them was in Wisconsin. They're a nasty sort." He frowned, his green eyes turning distant as if he were lost in memories. "They see themselves as the heroes." He glanced toward Danny. "Ghosts are all evil and seeking to hurt the living in their eyes. They want to erase ghosts from the world. I barely escaped from them. They probably would have caught me if Spectra hadn't been with me at the time. She pulled me into the Ghost Zone before the Guys in White could get me." His brow wrinkled, and he shook his head. "I didn't even know about the Ghost Zone until she brought me there."

"The Ghost Zone?" Danny repeated, blinking with a fry hovering before his mouth. "What is that?"

"It's, well," Phantom leaned back on his arms as he stared up at the moon, "I guess the best explanation is that it's like a world that exists parallel to this one. It's a place where ghosts reside. Most ghosts are content to live there permanently, but others like to visit the real world. It's kind of a dreary looking place. Dark green skies with swirling mists of green. There are these doors all around that lead into ghost lairs. But some of the stronger ghosts have actual floating islands as their lairs."

"Do you have a lair?"

Phantom shook his head. "I don't know why, but I've never had a lair. Spectra's offered to help me figure out the reason why that is. You know, maybe use her psychology on me to unlock the reason, but I don't think it's important. I'm fine with how things are."

Danny considered for a moment, his brow knitting as he munched on his fries. "What do you mean?" He stared curiously at Phantom, who blinked back in confusion. "I - Sorry. It just sounded like-" Danny shrugged, dropping his gaze. "You said you're fine with how things are. But what exactly do you mean?"

"Oh." Phantom leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees. "I don't remember anything from when I was alive," he confessed, and Danny looked away, feeling terrible for intruding on something about which the ghost may not want to speak. "Actually, I don't remember anything about myself from longer than a year ago."

"I - Sorry. I didn't-" Danny shook his head, but Phantom reached over and took hold of Danny's hand.

"It's fine. It doesn't bother me." But the look in Phantom's eyes showed pain. "Anyway, we wanted to know each other better, right?"

"R-Right. But I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me things if it makes you uncomfortable." Danny shifted awkwardly, but Phantom's hand remained holding his own, and that only brought a flush to his cheeks.

Phantom stared at him before a slow smile spread over his face. "I'm never uncomfortable with you." He leaned over and brushed his lips against Danny's reddening cheek. "My cute little photographer." He pulled back as he ran his thumb over Danny's knuckles, sending little tingles over the human's skin with each pass. "So other than photography, what interests do you have?"

"Well," Danny stuttered, his gaze focused on the thumb slowly moving over each bump of his knuckles. "I like literature. Lancer's a really good teacher for that, and he's great to talk to about the books we read for class. A-And stars. Space, I mean. I've always had a fascination with space. I probably do more studying on that than any of my other classes for school."

"Lancer," Phantom repeated, his brow creasing just slightly. "That name sounds familiar."

"He hired Ms. Spectra, and he stood up to the Guys in White when they came," Danny explained.

"Oh, right!" Phantom's mouth pulled into a smile. "Spectra did mention him. I guess you're not the only strange human in this town. This Lancer sounds like he looks beyond the surface too."

Danny nodded. "Lancer only cares if Ms. Spectra does her job well and doesn't hurt anyone." He stared up at the night sky for a few minutes as a thought wiggled around in his head. "She mentioned something about ghosts being around, but it wasn't until recently that they started showing up here. Why is that? Why are they drawn to Amity Park all of a sudden?"

Phantom shrugged. "A Portal was opened."

"What do you mean?" Danny's brow wrinkled, but Phantom didn't answer. The ghost released his hand and pushed away from the rooftop as his posture turned defensive. "What-" But Phantom hushed Danny.

"I never could get the jump on you," a woman said from above, and Danny craned his head upward to find another ghost floating there. She lay parallel to the rooftop as if she were resting on an invisible bed with her legs bent up at the knees and crossing at the ankle. One arm crossed under her chest while she held her chin in the other hand, grinning as she gazed down on Phantom.

Danny blinked at her, having never seen this particular ghost. Her skin was unnaturally grayish white with black markings around her bright green eyes. Her black clothing had that punk rock look to it, and her neon blue hair was drawn back in high ponytail, and Danny nearly jumped in surprise to see her hair looked as if it were on fire.

"Ember," Phantom grumbled, floating back over to land upon the rooftop. "What are you doing here?" He folded his arms as his eyes narrowed at her.

"So rude," the ghost, Ember, chided as she joined them on the rooftop. "Is that any way to greet a friend?"

"Is it your usual thing to interrupt when your _friend_ is on a date?" Phantom countered with a sour expression, clearly not pleased to have another ghost intruding upon their date.

"Ah, but you should have expected that." Ember smirked as she placed her hands on her hips. Danny noticed that she had a guitar strapped to her back. "Did you think I would ignore it when word got around the Ghost Zone that our little hero was going on a date? And with a human no less! Shouldn't you be a good little ghost and introduce us now?"

Phantom's mouth pursed, and he looked like he really didn't care to make introductions. "This is Ember McLain," he explained, reluctantly giving in to the other ghost. "Don't listen to her music. It's not that she's bad at singing and playing or anything. But she sometimes uses her music to hypnotize people."

"Not all the time," Ember argued.

Phantom rolled his eyes. "This is Danny. An odd human, but I rather like him."

Danny stood, picking up his camera. "It's nice to meet you."

Ember tilted her head slightly, her eyes trailing down over his body and up again. "I'm jealous. You managed to snag a cutie with manners." Danny flushed, bowing his head. "Oh! He blushes!" Ember pinched at his pink cheeks until Phantom shooed her away. "Hey, hey! Don't get upset! It's so rare to get to play with a human that doesn't go screaming at the sight of us."

"So how do you know Phantom?" Danny asked, finding it intriguing the way Phantom interacted with other ghosts. "Did he stop you from terrorizing humans or something?"

"What tall tales have you been telling him?" Ember stared at Phantom accusingly. "There was only one incident," she explained, holding up one finger as she addressed Danny. "I only tried to gain power by hypnotizing a town to chant my name one time." She shrugged, folding her arms. "After that, I stuck to the Ghost Zone. Surprisingly, the other ghosts really enjoy having some form of entertainment every now and then, so I've managed to gain popularity there."

"Mind if I get a picture?" Danny held up his camera.

"He likes taking pictures of ghosts," Phantom explained, doing a poor job of a side whisper to Ember. "Though it seems I'm his main focus." He smirked, and Danny flushed darkly, squirming at the effect that seductive expression had on him.

"Oh stop!" Ember laughed as she smacked Phantom on the shoulder. "You're going to make him die of embarrassment and then where will you be? You'll be without a date."

"I can't help it sometimes," Phantom admitted. "He makes it so fun to tease him."

"Just be careful," Ember warned seriously. "You don't want to tease him so much that you wind up making him hate you for it."

"Now you're giving me dating advice?" Phantom lifted his eyebrows in surprise.

Ember rolled her eyes then shoved him away. "Move it. You're in the shot, and I prefer to be the sole focus." She swung her guitar around to the front and struck a very rock and roll type pose for Danny to take a picture of. Biting his lip to keep from laughing at the way Phantom and Ember acted around each other, Danny lifted his camera to snap a few pictures of the singer.

"So," Danny said, lowering his camera when he had enough pictures, "just how many other ghosts do you know?" He glanced curiously between them.

Phantom shared a thoughtful glance with Ember. "Well, it's impossible to know every ghost." He folded his arms then shrugged. "Some of them stay locked up behind the doors to their lairs and never want to come out. And trust me. You don't want to mess with them."

"Well, that doesn't go for all of them," Ember argued, "but there are quite a few that are terrifying if you invade their lairs by accident."

Phantom nodded his agreement. "Most ghosts learn that lesson quickly and know to leave those ghosts well enough alone. But for how many I know." His mouth pursed to one side in consideration. "I don't think I could give you an exact number. I've met quite a lot of them this past year."

"Yeah," Ember slung an arm around Danny's shoulders, smirking at the grumpy glare he shot at her, "Phantom's really become the talk of the Ghost Zone. Even ghosts that have never met him know of his name. The ghost that runs around being a hero."

Danny thought, his brow creasing slightly. "Is the whole obsession thing true?" He sweated when the two ghosts stared at him, and he wondered if that was something he really shouldn't have asked. "Uh, I mean, well, I heard that someone once wrote this paper theorizing that ghosts have obsessions that their existences revolve around. And, well, since you're both ghosts, I thought you could give me some insight on whether that was true or not. Sorry." He bowed his head. "You don't have to answer. That was probably insensitive of me to ask."

"I never really thought about that," Phantom admitted.

"It does make sense," Ember said, and both ghosts sounded like they were thinking deeply on the topic. "For me, I guess my obsession is to become famous so that my name is never forgotten." She snapped her fingers. "That must be why I get stronger when people chant my name. Wow! That _really_ makes sense now."

"Yeah, and like how Ms. Spectra feeds off the negative energy of teenagers to become younger because her obsession is to stay young and beautiful," Danny added, excitement slipping into his voice.

"So Mr. Superhero," Ember said, grinning as she leaned on his shoulder, "is your whole obsession being a superhero? That would explain why you're always running around trying to help and save people."

Phantom scratched at the back of his head, his brow creasing with uncertainty in his eyes. "I suppose it makes sense when you say it like that. I never gave much thought to why I do it. I just," he shrugged, "I always felt like I needed to help people."

The clock tower rang underneath them, the bell singing out the time for the town to hear. Danny snapped his gaze to his watch. "Oh no! I'm going to be late for curfew!" His stomach felt like it dropped with his dread of going home to face two unhappy parents. He got so caught up enjoying his time with Phantom, as awkward as it was in some spots, that he didn't pay attention to how late it was.

"I can get you home quickly." Phantom stepped over to him, standing closely before Danny. "Flying has some advantages." He smirked as Danny flushed darkly.

"You two have it so bad," Ember said, shaking her head. "You better hurry up, or he won't be able to go on another date for a while. Human parents are pretty annoying with all their rules and such, like curfew."

Danny grabbed his bag, and the trash from his dinner, before Phantom lifted him into his arms for the second time that night. "It was nice meeting you, Ember. Maybe sometime, I'll get the chance to hear you play something."

"As long as it isn't infused with your hypnotic powers." Phantom stared sternly at the female ghost.

"Yeah, yeah." Ember waved off his warning. "Hurry on home with your lover boy, dipstick."

Phantom turned them both invisible, and Danny shivered in his arms as that icy sensation washed over him like frost crawling over his skin. Did ghosts ever feel cold? Or were they immune to such things as hot and cold? Danny chuckled to himself, thinking about how nice the coldness provided by a ghost would feel in the dead heat of summer as Phantom flew him over the buildings of Amity Park. When prompted, Danny gave the ghost instructions where to find his house. They landed just in front of his house with a few seconds to spare.

"I had fun tonight," Danny said with his gaze cast down and a rosy flush upon his cheeks.

"I'm glad. Can I see you again?" Phantom asked, leaning in far too close, and Danny was certain that ghosts had no concept of personal space.

Danny nodded then after a moment, he found his voice." Yes," he answered breathlessly.

Phantom's mouth curved into a smile. Then he closed the distance between them, sealing their mouths together in a short kiss that lasted seconds. "Until then, my cute little photographer," he whispered, slowly vanishing from sight.

Danny flushed, a warmth squirming around inside him as his lips tingled after the kiss. Stirring himself, he reminded himself that he still had to be inside the house before his parents decided he was late and deserved grounding for breaking curfew. He hurried up to the door of his house and unlocked it. But before he entered, he turned back and stared up at the night sky, wondering if Phantom lingered behind invisibly to watch him. His cheeks warmed and a small smile flickered upon his face before Danny stepped into the house.

"Another second, and you would have been late," his father said, standing in the doorway to the front room with his arms folded.

"S-Sorry." Danny couldn't meet his father's stern glare as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You know how I get sometimes when I'm looking at the stars. I just forget all about the time."

"Well, try not to get lost in the stars too much in the future." His father reached over and ruffled his son's raven hair.

"I'll try." Danny smiled at his father. "I'll see you in the morning." He started up the stairs to the second flood as his father said goodnight to him. An odd giddiness bubbled up inside him, thinking back on his date. The night had definitely been good in his mind.


	13. Chapter 13

Danny still felt like he was on cloud nine after his date the next morning. He rolled out of bed, the pain in his chest reminding him that he wasn't completely healed after being shot by the two Guys in White agents. That only put a minor dip in his happy mood, and he doubted anything could really shake him out of it. The date with Phantom went well. The kiss was much too short, but it seemed to fill his dreams all night. Danny blushed darkly as he dressed for the day. He couldn't wait for his next date with the ghost until he realized something that made him stop with a clean shirt halfway on and his bruised chest revealed in the reflection of his mirror. They never set up their next date, and Danny didn't have any way to contact the ghost about when they would have their next date.

So maybe there was something that could dampen his mood. Danny sighed as he left his bedroom to head downstairs to the kitchen. They would see each other again though, he was certain of it, the next time some big news story broke and Phantom had to appear to save the day. As he hit the bottom of the stairs, Danny decided maybe it was a good thing that he couldn't contact Phantom. They liked each other very much, that was quite clear, but quick infatuation wasn't a lasting thing. If they wanted things to work out, it was good to take things slowly and get to know one another. Though Danny certainly wouldn't mind if during that getting to know one another time, Phantom decided to give him a few more kisses. He tried to banish the blush from his face as he neared the kitchen.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore," his mother said, and Danny froze just feet from the doorway into the kitchen. His parents weren't sitting on the side of the table that could be seen from where he stood, so Danny couldn't see them, but that meant they couldn't see he was there too.

"You're the one that's always shushing me when I'm about to let something slip related to our work," his father said with a frown in his voice. Danny's brow wrinkled as he listened to their conversation. Part of him thought he should announce his presence, but it was told to shut up by the part of him that was eager for any scrap of information about what his parents did.

His mother sighed, and Danny could hear the exhaustion in it. "I know. But that was before all this started. Things are getting dangerous out there. I don't like Danny being out there. Maybe we shouldn't allow him out at night. Not while-"

"What?" Danny shouted, charging into the kitchen as anger crept through his veins. "You can't do that!" He glared at his parents, who stared at him in stunned silence. "You worry about my well being, and I'm glad for that, but keeping me locked up at night just because there's been a few violent ghost attacks around town is outrageous. The whole world has dangers in it that have nothing to do with ghosts. If you're worried about me being safe out there, then teach me to protect myself. Isn't that something you said you were going to do earlier? Teach me to defend myself against bullies?" His blue eyes met with his mother's gaze as his hands curled at his sides. "Or do you plan on forbidding me from doing my job as a photographer because taking pictures at the scene of some crimes and accidents might be too dangerous," he lifted his hands up and shook them in mock terror, "for me?"

His parents exchanged glances, both of them frowning with concern. "Danny," his father said, lowering his dark blue eyes, "we're not going to force you to be home before dark or quit your job at the newspaper. We're quite proud of how hard you've been working to keep your grades up while still being able to do your job. I'm sure many of your fellow classmates wouldn't be able to do as well as you have at balancing both work and school. We don't want to punish you for that. But you have to understand that all these ghosts around have made our town a much more dangerous place. We're very worried about your safety. And the safety of everyone else in town."

"We're not exactly pleased to know that there's a ghost working at the school," his mother added with a grim expression. "Do you know how scared we were when we got that phone call and learned that you got hurt? And for protecting a ghost!" Horror flickered through his mother's eyes. "I still can't understand what you were thinking!"

Danny walked over to the table and dropped into a chair. "Mom, ghosts aren't evil," he said, and he wondered if that was going to be his running comment for the rest of his life with the way people responded to ghosts. "Yes, there are some out there that are violent and go around causing destruction and chaos in their wake. But isn't that true of humans too? You have your bad with your good, but you can't generalize all ghosts are evil. Some ghosts just want to co-exist peacefully with us. Ms. Spectra doesn't want to harm anyone. And I'm sure there are plenty of students that won't feel comfortable speaking to her after learning the truth about her, and they do have other options. I'm sure Lancer would be happy to speak with those students himself if necessary. But Ms. Spectra _is_ doing good. She's already helping students." He thought back to Valerie. Maybe she could have worked through her anger at some point without Ms. Spectra's help, but it was better for her to learn to move on from the grief over her mother's death sooner rather than later. Before her anger led her down a destructive path.

His parents frowned at him throughout his talking then glanced at each other when he finished. Their expressions were - What? Worried? Troubled? Frightened? Danny had a hard time picking out just what his parents were trying to get across with those looks, but he didn't like it. The way they kept sharing looks and whispering and talking in secret on the phone made him feel like lead was suddenly pumping slowly through him, that dreadful sensation that his parents were hiding some deep, dark secret that when finally exposed would change everything he ever knew about them. That earlier nagging voice whispered that it was probably for the best if he left their secrets alone instead of curiously trying to discover what they were.

"Maybe you're right," his father said after a long, drawn out silence. "Maybe we've let the attacks shown by the news blind us to the truth. Though even your newspaper is calling that Inviso-Bill character a hero worship seeking villain that we shouldn't trust."

"He is not!" Danny argued defensively. "And his name is Phantom!" When his parents stared at him in surprise, and perhaps a little fear, Danny relaxed his posture and lowered his gaze. "I - I heard the name when I was taking pictures when he appeared to stop criminals. He's not doing it for the hero worshipping. He's doing it because he feels helping people is right." Danny stayed silent about the whole concept of ghostly obsessions, deciding that would probably make his parents question him about his knowledge of such things. He especially didn't want his parents getting suspicious and thinking he was starting a relationship with a ghost. They didn't seem to have very good opinions of ghosts, and Danny frowned at that fact.

"Well, you do have to admit that the reporters make a pretty convincing case," his father said, though Danny thought maybe he saw a hint of doubt entering his eyes. "This Inviso- Er, Phantom," his father winced when his son glared at him, "seems to conveniently show up every time someone's in trouble and save them."

"Well, he _is_ a ghost," Danny spat out with some frustration. "It's not like he has anything else to do but keep on the lookout for people who need his help. He doesn't need to do things like work to earn money to buy things and pay bills and everything else that we living folk need money for. Shouldn't we be happy that there's someone watching out for the people of our town? Who cares if he's a ghost if he's helping people? But he _is_ only one ghost. There are plenty of other things going on around town that he isn't able to get to and help out there. It only seems like he's _conveniently_ appearing to save the day because the stories when he appears get so much press."

His father's mouth pursed, and Danny could see his father working through it all. "I suppose," he said slowly, "that makes some sense."

"Enough of this dreary talk of ghosts," his mother said as she stood up from the table. "How about we start with some light training? Then I'll make you some breakfast."

The shift in topic threw Danny off, and he blinked several times at his mother. "Y-Yeah, okay." He got up from the table and followed his mother into the front room.

They had to move some of the furniture out of the way with his father's help to clear the area for them. His father sat on the couch that was pushed up against the wall to watch them. For some time, Danny stood awkwardly before his mother, rubbing at his arm and shifting his weight every now and then. She stared at him, considering with a wrinkle of her brow. After some thought, she decided to start him off with some basic defensive moves to protect himself from painful blows. She wanted to take it slow, and Danny suspected that was because she was hesitant about him getting into more fights that would lead to severe injuries, or possibly even death.

"Mom," Danny sighed after they had gone through the movements blocking some simply attacks several times. "I'm not going to go out and start looking for fights. This is all so that if I'm in a situation where I have to defend myself or even fight back, I can. That's not going to happen if you baby me the entire time."

"The boy's got a point, Maddie," his father said, nodding sagely with his arms folded over his broad chest. "He's a tough kid, but he should have some real experience with fighting. A real spar would be a good learning experience for him. But," he smirked somewhat, "perhaps hold back a little at first. After all, he doesn't have your ninth degree black belt training."

His mother huffed but caved in, agreeing to stop with the coddling and really train him. Danny wasn't sure what he expected, but his mother was a frightening woman when she got serious about sparring. He lost count of how many times he ended up on his back somewhere after the eighth time. She struck him when he failed to block her punches, but he could tell she held back her strength. He also noted that she avoided any attacks toward his chest, mindful of his previous injury at the guns of the Guys in White. He would have complained that she was still babying him, but considering how hard she could punch, even holding back, he was thankful none of them were to his already bruised chest.

When his mother said they had done enough for their first day, Danny dropped to the ground and lay there panting for breath. Exhaustion pulled at him, drawing his eyes half closed as the soreness set in after the hard work out. Sweat clung to his skin while his mother hardly looked like she had put any effort into the sparring. His father's hand appeared before him, and it felt like a great effort to lift his arm and take the hand and allow his father to pull him back to his feet.

"Not bad for your first time, I think," his father said jovially as he slapped a hand to his son's back that nearly sent Danny right back to the floor. "If you keep training like that, you might make a good sparring partner for your mom."

They entered the kitchen where his mother was already getting to work on fixing breakfast. Danny collapsed into a chair at the table and rested his head on his arms. Distantly, he heard the doorbell ringing and wondered who would be coming over so early on a Sunday morning, but his mind happily turned to blankness instead of focusing too hard on that curiosity.

"If we're going to do this seriously," his mother said as she set a plate before him on the table, "then we should schedule out time for you to train." She frowned down at her son as Danny picked up the banana to start eating, though he really felt too tired to even try lifting it to his mouth after peeling it. He thought with all the running he did for the newspaper that it wouldn't feel so draining, but he was wrong. He wasn't prepared for how hard even a short training session could be. There was other stuff on the plate, but the sight of eggs and sausage was making his stomach churn at the moment. "We'll have to figure out how you can get some training in while still keeping up with your school work and your job at the newspaper," she said as her brow creased with concern.

"We'll make it work somehow," Danny assured her then took a bite out of the banana. It seemed like a lot to handle, but he was confident that he could balance it all out and keep up with everything. Though he hoped it wouldn't interfere with his chance to spend more time with Phantom.

"You look like you had a rough night," Tucker joked as he came into the kitchen with Sam.

Danny swallowed his mouthful of banana as he turned around to face his friends. "Hey! What are you guys doing here? It's," he turned his head to catch the time on the oven, "already eleven forty-five?" His eyebrows rose in surprise. He hadn't realized it was already so late in the day. Maybe that training session ran longer than he thought.

"We thought you'd like to hang out," Sam said. "Maybe do some research or kick back and relax for a bit at my place."

Danny quickly finished off the rest of his banana and got up to throw the peel away in the garbage can. "Yeah, sure. You don't mind, right?" He winced, knowing the breakfast she just made for him would be going to waste.

"It's fine." His mother smiled at him. "I think that I worked up a bit of an appetite after that workout."

"I'll be back later then." Danny followed his friends out of the kitchen and to the front door. Then he remembered something and nearly slapped himself in the forehead. "Give me a minute." He raced up the stairs two at a time and down the hall to his bedroom. The poster sat on his desk where he left last night before crawling into bed to have pleasant dreams about a certain white haired ghost. He flushed lightly as he grabbed the poster then turned to hurry back to his waiting friends.

"What was that about?" Sam asked when Danny finally returned to the front door.

"This is for you." Danny held out the poster as they left his house. He rolled his eyes when Sam took it with an uncertain raising of one eyebrow. "It's not going to explode or anything."

"It's just... surprising," Sam mumbled, stopping when they reached her car. She pulled the rubber band from around it and slowly unrolled the poster. She gazed at it for several moments before her mouth dropped open. Tucker leaned over to get a glance and gasped when he saw the signature of all the band members of Dumpty Humpty. "What? Danny, how did you get this? You didn't even have tickets to the concert!"

"It's not from me." Danny shook his head, but he couldn't help the grin that spread over his face. "Kwan got it for you. Dash passed it to me last night and asked if I would give it to you for him."

"Dude, are you kidding?" Tucker gave him a shove, and Danny winced, the soreness of his muscles seeming to magnify under the gentle pressure.

"Why would he do something like that?" Sam asked, still in awe that Kwan would go out of his way to get her an autographed poster from a band she liked.

Danny shrugged. "Maybe he likes you."

"What?" Sam laughed, but it sounded awkward and forced. "How could he like me? We never even talk. And I was mean to him after the whole thing at Skulk and Lurk."

"Who knows? Love is a crazy thing." Danny walked past them to climb into the back of Sam's car. Tucker got into the passenger's seat as per usual, but it took several minutes before Sam walked around to get into the driver's seat. She seemed to still be stunned over the idea that Kwan might actually have a crush on her, and Danny wondered if it was a wise idea to allow her to drive them anywhere.

"Wait." Tucker twisted around in the passenger's seat to frown at Danny. "I thought you were at home doing homework after you got off the call with us last night. How did you end up running into Dash?" He glared accusingly at Danny as if he thought there was some conspiracy with Danny and Dash meeting in secret. The question, though, seemed to jerk Sam out of her daze, and she spun around to face him too, waiting for his response.

"I went out to grab some Nasty Burger," Danny answered with a nervous laugh. He forgot that his friends might immediately question how he ended up getting the poster between the end of their call last night and this morning. He needed to think up a story quickly, but his mind was drawing a blank.

"Why?" Sam demanded, and her eyes narrowed in a glare that made Danny shrink down in his seat.

"I, uh-" Danny needed to think of something. Anything, really! "I was, um," his eyes darted around, but his fumbling mind couldn't come up with any sort of excuse, "on a date." The moment those three little words left his mouth, he cringed and wanted to smack his darkening face.


	14. Chapter 14

He really, _really_ regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. He should have realized that the mere mention of going on a date would make his friends pester him and pester him and pester him until he finally divulged every little detail to them. He couldn't have come up with some other excuse, could he? He couldn't have said something like his parents felt too tired after a long day of working in the basement to cook dinner and sent him out to pick up something for all of them. That could have been believed. But no, he had to be an idiot and blurt out that he went on a date.

Danny could still feel the heat of his blush as he caved and started telling his friends about the date on the car ride over to Sam's house. He decided the best place to start was telling them that he date was with another man. Nervousness twisted up inside him enough to make him feel nauseated at the thought of how his friends would react to that news. But he was more terrified about how they would respond to the fact that his date was with a ghost.

"I always knew there was something about you!" Tucker said first.

"Shut up. No you didn't," Sam scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Danny," she glanced through the rear view mirror to catch his gaze, "you know we're not going to hate you because you're gay, right?" Her brow wrinkled slightly. "Or does this make you bi?"

"I-" Danny paused to consider it for a moment. "I hadn't actually thought about it. I guess bi." He shrugged, thinking it probably didn't matter that much since he was only interested in one person. "But I'm glad you're both okay with it." A grin spread across his face as he relaxed.

"So who was it with?" Tucker asked, grinning like he was ready to start teasing his friend the moment it was revealed. But the grin faded as his expression turned ponderous. "You met Dash at Nasty Burger," he mumbled then his green eyes flew wide open. "Oh man! Tell me it wasn't with Dash!"

Danny couldn't help laughing at the horror stricken expression on his friend's face. His sides hurt from laughing so hard, and Tucker managed to reach back and smack him on the knee as he frowned. "Sorry," Danny said when he could control his laughter. "It's just the idea of dating Dash is pretty funny." He reached up to wipe the tears from his eyes. "Anyway, Dash might like a Fenton, but it certainly isn't me. He's totally crushing on Jazz."

"Oh man," Tucker breathed out in relief. "I was scared there for a moment."

"Stop stalling," Sam complained. "Who did you go on a date with? Anyone we know? You might as well spill because you know we're not going to let up until you give us all the details."

Danny did know that, which only made him regret mentioning the date all the more. He sighed, scratching a hand through his raven locks as he debated how best to tell it. Just spitting it out seemed like the quickest way to do it, like ripping off a Band-Aid. He could try stalling, but eventually, it would come out in the end. One way or another, he was going to find out his friend's reaction to the news that he was dating a ghost. He took a deep breath and waited one more moment before speaking again.

"I was on a date with," Danny couldn't look at his friends as his face burned with a blush, "Phantom." He cringed, waiting for his friend's to respond. He was nearly flung forward into the front seats when Sam slammed down on the brakes and the car screeched to a stop. Luckily, no other cars were behind them, or the sudden stop might have caused a crash.

"What?" Sam shouted as both she and Tucker gawked at him.

Danny pressed back into the seat, keeping his gaze out the window as he tensed up. "Phantom," he said as he nervously picked at a loose thread on his jeans. "You know, that white haired ghost that's been saving people all over town?"

"We _know_ who Phantom is," Tucker said. "What we're wondering is: how the hell did you go on a date with him?"

"And more importantly, what are you thinking?" Sam demanded with a severe frown upon her face. She could be okay with her friend being gay, or bisexual, but she apparently drew the line at him dating a ghost.

"Well, we met the other night," Danny explained, fumbling about nervously as he shrank down on the backseat, feeling incredibly small despite his height under the stares of his friends. "And I guess we sort of hit it off, and he asked me out, so," he shrugged, "I said yes."

"Danny, he's a ghost!" Sam shouted, and Danny flinched back. "You can't date a ghost."

"Apparently, he can," Tucker mumbled, frowning at Sam, who scowled back. "What? He _did_ go on a date with the ghost, after all." He gestured with one hand at Danny.

After glowering at Tucker for another moment, Sam snapped her gaze back onto Danny. "You can't date him. Think about it, Danny! He's a ghost. How do you think he got that way? Because he's _dead_! You can't date someone that's dead. That's like - like-"

"Necrophilia?" Tucker supplied, and Sam glared at him.

"I was getting there," Sam growled.

"You say that like I _haven't_ thought about that," Danny said, his own anger igniting. "Well, in case you wanted to know, I _have_!" His eyes narrowed, his hands curling around the edge of the seat, as he glared at his friends. "I've debated it over and over in my head ever since Phantom first appeared in town. And you know what? It doesn't change the fact that I'm still attracted to him! I know it's silly. I know how _crazy_ it sounds. But I like him. I want to know more about him. This isn't just some stupid ghost obsession that's gotten out of hand. I want to be with him, and I don't care that he's a ghost." His teeth ground painfully in anger as he watched his friends exchange worried looks.

"I don't think I can approve of this," Sam said, frowning at him with a worried crease in her brow.

"Yeah, it's a bit weird, man," Tucker agreed, looking disturbed by the idea of someone dating a ghost.

"Okay. Don't approve it. Be weirded out by it. But don't sit there trying to tear us apart, okay?" Danny begged them.

Sam groaned and Tucker looked doubtful, but they both agreed to not say anything more about their friend dating a ghost. Danny also got them to agree not to tell anyone about his relationship with Phantom.

"You know," Danny grumbled, shooting a glare at his friends as he closed his locker, "giving me looks like that is about the same as saying it out loud that you disapprove." He sighed internally. It was already Thursday, and his friends still couldn't get over the whole announcement that he was dating a ghost, though he hadn't seen Phantom since Saturday night.

"It's just weird, okay?" Tucker frowned as they started walking down the hall toward the cafeteria. "I mean, you're dating a ghost. How are we supposed to just be okay with that in a few days?"

"Just-" Danny struggled for a moment before he shrugged. "Just pretend he's a normal guy."

"Somehow, I don't think that will be easy," Sam said, and her eyebrows seemed to be constantly knitted together in a frown since the news.

"If you keep looking like that, you're going to get wrinkles," Paulina said as she passed them. She laughed along with Star, who walked beside her.

"Ugh," Sam groaned, scowling at the two women. "I swear!"

"Sam, you know getting back at them isn't going to do anything," Danny pointed out, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked like she might actually do something that she would regret later if they didn't stop her.

"I know," Sam growled, and after a moment and a few deep breaths, her shoulders relaxed. "She just drives me crazy sometimes. Like being beautiful is all a girl is good for?" She snorted in disgust.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with wanting to look pretty," Danny said, looking away when Sam glared at him, "but obviously there's a lot more to a woman than just her looks. I mean, look at my mom. She's smart and a fierce fighter." His body was still aching from the training sessions with his mother. "Women are definitely not to be taken lightly."

"You got that right," Valerie said, punching Danny on the shoulder as she past him. He rubbed at the sore spot with a wince. "I'd have you flat on your back in two seconds if I decided to actually fight you." She smirked before continuing on her way down the hall.

"Well, she seems to have stopped hating you," Sam said with some surprise. "I guess talking with Spectra is really paying off."

"Aren't you glad now that Lancer hired her?" Danny teased with a nudge to Sam's side with his elbow.

"You better look out," Tucker said, nodding toward something down the hall. "Looks like lover boy is waiting on you."

Danny and Sam turned their heads to see Kwan standing by the door of the cafeteria. Dash was talking with him, but the dark haired jock seemed distracted by glancing down the hall toward the three friends. Danny bit his lower lip to stop the grin from spreading onto his face and threw a look toward Sam. He was surprised to see that Sam had lowered her gaze and a light blush was slowly growing upon her cheeks.

"I should probably go thank him," Sam mumbled, refusing to look at either of her friends. "Since he was nice enough to get the poster for me and all."

"Oh, oh!" Tucker grinned, poking at Sam's shoulder. "You so like him!"

"Shut up!" Sam punched him, hard, in the arm. Tucker gasped as he held his arm, pain showing in his green eyes. "It's not like that." But the blush on her face might say otherwise. "I just don't want to be a jerk when he did something nice." She huffed as she picked up the pace and walked ahead of them.

"Perhaps you shouldn't tease her," Danny suggested, leaning toward his friend.

"Noted," Tucker mumbled with a wince. "Man, she can throw a punch!"

Danny chuckled, but when he glanced down the hall to see Sam talking with Kwan, he wondered if maybe she really did like the jock. Kwan certainly wasn't the bad sort, and he would definitely treat Sam right if they were to date. But it was still mind boggling to think maybe Sam returned those feelings. Danny couldn't think of any time when Sam actually showed any hint that she may have a crush on the jock. Though right now with the two of them blushing and acting awkwardly around each other, he thought perhaps he had simply been completely oblivious to the obvious in front of him.

Danny glanced toward his friend still standing beside him. "You're not about to tell me that you've secretly been harboring a crush on someone without telling me too, are you?" He narrowed his eyes, already getting that betrayed feeling of his friend not confiding in him.

"You're one to talk with you dating Phantom," Tucker returned with a glare. "Anyway, I'm pretty obvious about my crushes." He paused to think for a moment. "Well, at least with flirting with girls."

Danny laughed because that was certainly true. "From now on, no secrets about who we like?" He grinned when Tucker nodded his agreement. He started to head for the cafeteria when a chill snaked up his back, and he shuddered. Twisting around, Danny scanned the hall, spying some of the students lingering about at their lockers. Something caught his attention though. "I'll, uh, catch up to you later, okay?" He glanced back to Tucker.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Tucker said with an uncertain wrinkling of his brow. "See you." He waved then headed for the cafeteria.

Danny waited half a moment then walked back down the hall. The other students didn't bother to give him much notice, too involved with their own lives to care about him. Hesitancy swept through him as he neared the person that caught his attention, the man with his hood pulled up over his head as he stood in front of a locker. The thing about him that made Danny take notice was that the locker he stood in front of was locker seven twenty-four, a locker that no one used and was covered in rust. His mouth pulled downward as he reached the man then leaned forward slightly to get a look at his face.

"P-Phantom!" Danny managed to keep his voice a whisper despite his surprise.

The ghost jerked, seeming torn out of his thoughts when Danny spoke. His green eyes drifted toward the man beside him, and a grin slipped onto his face. "There you are, my little photographer." He reached up, his hand cupping Danny's cheek as it grew rosy red at the light touch.

"What are you doing here?" Danny's heart skipped, but he resisted that little voice whispering to hug Phantom and kiss him, as very tempting as that idea was. He couldn't even remember if he told Phantom what high school he went to on their date.

"Well, I spoke to Spectra, and she told me which high school she worked at, since she's working at the same one you go to," Phantom explained, dropping his hand then shoving his hands into his pockets. "So I figured if I wandered around here, I'd eventually run into you." He grinned. "I wanted to see you. See where you go to school. See you with your friends." He blinked then looked slightly bashful. "Sorry. That's probably overstepping. If you don't want me-"

"It's fine," Danny said before thinking then blushed. "My friends are," he looked away, "not exactly happy that we're dating. But maybe if they get to know you," he snapped his gaze back to Phantom with hope in his blue eyes, "they'll accept us."

"I'll be happy to meet them." Phantom nodded. "You've met most of my friends anyway."

Danny smiled, but his gaze traveled absently over Phantom's body. "You changed your outfit?" He looked back up with some surprise.

"Ember showed me." Phantom chuckled. "I figured I would stand out too much in my normal outfit, so I tried to adopt something that was more like you wear to blend in better."

"It looks good." Danny certainly wasn't going to complain about the new look with the tight fitted jeans and the leather jacket with an unzipped hooded sweatshirt underneath it. Phantom looked like he had slicked back his white hair so that it didn't peek out from under his hood. Danny's gaze drifted toward the locker. "Why were you standing here? You seemed lost in thought or something."

Phantom looked confused then turned his gaze back to the locker. "You don't feel it?"

"Feel what?" Danny's brow creased, and his mouth thinned as he stared at patterns of rusty red over the pale green of the locker door. It looked ancient compared to the other lockers around it that were all clean and new looking. The janitors apparently didn't even bother to clean it. Had anyone opened the locker in years? It kind of made him think of those old horror movies where there was a mysterious locked door in a house and eventually the protagonist would get it open and unleash hell. He shivered thinking about it.

"Oh, sorry." Phantom stepped away. "You're probably just feeling me. Maybe if I move far enough away, you'll feel it." He kept backing up down the hall, and some people gave them looks, probably wondering what they were doing.

Danny frowned as he watched the ghost. As Phantom walked away from him, the air around him warmed in the absence of a ghost. Danny didn't know what to do. He didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. Turning his gaze onto the locker, he stepped closer to it, frowning as his imagination suggested something creepy was about to jump out at him. Maybe there was something there. He could still feel a chill, a cool washing breeze passing over him, just barely there, even though Phantom was much too far away for him to feel the usual coldness from him.

"Well?" Phantom questioned when he returned a moment later. "Did you feel it?"

Danny shrugged, feeling at a lost. "Maybe? I don't know. I could have just imagined it because you mentioned something."

Phantom nodded, seeming to understand. "I think," he touched a hand to the locker door, "something's there. Something connected to the Ghost Zone." He turned his gaze to Danny. "But it seems to be sealed up tight, so I don't think it's anything to worry about."

"Well, that's good. I think." Danny took hold of Phantom's hand. "Come on. I'll introduce you to my friends."

Phantom tore his attention away from the locker and seemed happy for the distraction as he smiled. "I'll have to do my best to make a good impression on them." Before Danny could lead the way to the cafeteria, Phantom tugged on his hand, pulling Danny into him. The kiss they shared was soft and tender, and Danny couldn't care in that moment what anyone that saw them thought at seeing two men kiss. He was slightly dazed when Phantom pulled back, grinning. "I couldn't resist."

Danny bit his lip to hold back the giddy giggle that wanted to bubble up out of him after the kiss. How could he complain when he enjoyed Phantom's kisses, even if they felt too short? "Mm, but probably shouldn't do that in front of my friends," he mumbled distractedly while he stared into Phantom's eyes. "At least, not until they're okay with us. And even then, probably not too often. I don't want them thinking of us as one of those annoying couples that are so in to themselves that they just sit around making out wherever they are."

Phantom nodded. "Slow. I get it." He lifted Danny's hand and brushed his lips gently over the knuckles as Danny's cheeks burned brightly. "As you wish."


	15. Chapter 15

"So how did your talk with lover boy go?" Tucker grinned teasingly until Sam kicked him hard under the table with a scowl that made Danny glad he wasn't on the receiving end of it.

"You remember when I said you shouldn't tease her, right?" Danny asked, trying not to grin too much at his friend's pain. Tucker glowered at him as he reached down to rub at his shin.

So far, introducing Phantom to his friends was going all right. He was disappointed that Phantom was sitting opposite him rather than next to him, but their legs kept bumping under the table, which brought a blush to his cheeks. When he glanced over, he would catch a smirk upon Phantom's face as their eyes caught one another. Part of him suspected that Phantom was purposely brushing his leg up against him just for the brief physical contact.

"Anyway, Sam is free to like whomever she wants," Danny said, dipping his fries into a large pool of bright red ketchup before stuffing a few into his mouth.

"You just want to get on Sam's good side so that she won't be so disapproving of you dating him," Tucker grumbled with a nod toward Phantom. "Which is still weird, by the way."

"I'm not expecting you both to be all okay with it right off the bat," Danny said, frowning at his friend. "And even if I _do_ want you both to be okay with it, I still think Sam is free to choose who she dates without us having to be teasing jerks about it. Besides Kwan's a good guy. Anyway since Phantom decided to show up here, I thought it would be good for you both to meet him. Maybe if you get to know him, you won't be so weirded out about us dating."

"I never said I was going to date Kwan," Sam argued, pushing around her salad with a fork. "I don't even really know anything about him."

"Yeah, but that's whole point of dating, isn't it?" Danny picked up his sandwich. "I mean, sure, sometimes you've been friends for ages and are taking the next step in your relationship. But most of the time, it's two people just meeting and getting to know one another. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. But if you like him and he likes you, why not take the chance?" He opened his mouth and took a bite out of the sandwich.

"Maybe I should take you along whenever Johnny and Kitty need relationship advice," Phantom said, leaning on one arm as he grinned at Danny, who flushed a little as he dropped his gaze. "They get into a few fights every now and again."

"I don't think I'd be very good help with ghost relationship advice," Danny mumbled, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"It's not much different. We're virtually the same," Phantom said, glancing to Danny's friends. "I mean in that we have the same sort of feelings as you do. The obsession thing might be true, but it doesn't erase that we have other feelings too. We can be sad or angry or in love just the same."

"So it seems," Sam said, mouth pursing to say she didn't quite believe the "in love" part. After abandoning her salad, she lifted her hand and reached out, casually pressing her index finger into Phantom's cheek. The ghost glanced over to his side, lifting an eyebrow at her. "Sorry," Sam mumbled, retracting her hand quickly with an embarrassed blush coming over her face. "I just - I thought you'd be - I didn't think you'd be so solid."

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Tucker said, brow wrinkling and mouth still partially full of his hamburger. Extra meaty. "Are all ghosts solid or just ones like you and Ms. Spectra?"

"Most are intangible," Phantom answered, not seeming bothered at all about answering questions about being a ghost. "Some learn how to become tangible to interact with the real world. It helps to be all creepy. You know, making things move while still being invisible just to spook humans. Others have developed a sort of telekinetic means of doing it that involves infusing some energy temporarily into an object to control it. It really kind of depends on the ghost." Phantom shrugged. "But I figure if I'm going to be hanging out around humans," he sent a grin toward Danny as their legs bumped against each other under the table again, "then I should be tangible. It would be pretty weird if we were hanging out, and suddenly I walked through something." That did seem to make quite a bit of sense.

"And what were you planning on doing if your hand went right through his face?" Tucker asked Sam, trying not to grin too widely at her.

Sam glared across the table at him, and a moment later, Tucker yelped as he received another kick to the shin. Danny bit back a laugh. If he wasn't careful, Tucker was going to end up with a lot of bruises, courtesy of Sam. Danny grinned to himself as he nibbled on his fries. Things seemed to be going well with his friends and Phantom, and Danny could feel the relief relaxing the tension in his muscles as he watched them interact with each other.

In the next moment, Phantom was around the table before any of them even had time to blink, and Danny stared at where the ghost was a second ago as his hand froze halfway to his mouth with another fry. Phantom moved so quickly that Danny and his friends didn't even realize it until a moment after it happened. Danny and Tucker twisted around to see Phantom standing behind them as something hit the ground with a splat. Danny glanced down and saw the sloppy mess of a hamburger. It took a moment for it to register in his head that Phantom had just blocked the hamburger from striking him in the back. The laughter that followed was both familiar and brought a flush anger to his face as Danny stood.

"Knock it off, Calvin," Danny said, glaring at the jock who was standing at another table in the cafeteria. He frowned when he noticed another hamburger in Calvin's hands, perhaps preparing to launch another meaty projectile their way.

"What's the matter, Fentweeb?" Calvin said, smirking. "Need your _boyfriend_ to protect you?"

Danny placed a hand on Phantom's shoulder for the ghost looked like he might use his powers against the jock with the rage that was flashing in his green eyes. "What's the matter, _Calvin_?" Danny questioned, his mouth curling upward in a haughty expression that only seemed to anger the jock more. "Jealous because no one likes you? Maybe if you stopped acting like a jerk you'd be able to get a girlfriend. Or maybe you're more interested in boys."

Calvin growled in fury as other students in the cafeteria whispered. He launched the second hamburger at them, but his anger made his aim terrible and it struck another student instead. "You think you can be Mr. Funny Man because you have some creepy ghost buddies? Well, I don't see them anywhere." He smirked, like that somehow proved his victory.

"You do realize ghosts can be invisible, right?" Tucker pointed out, and Calvin paled noticeably.

"What is wrong with you people?" Valerie demanded, standing up from the table where she was sitting with Paulina and Star. Hamburger stains dampened her shirt, and some of the splatter hit the other two women sitting with her. They didn't look any happier about it than Valerie. "Why do you all insist on ruining all of my clothes?"

"Sorry, Valerie," Danny said, wincing at the anger on her face. For some reason, her fury seemed a hundred times more terrifying than having Calvin's anger turned on him.

"Whatever," Calvin grumbled, rolling his eyes and clearly not caring about Valerie's clothing. "This isn't about you." He stood up a bit straighter and cracked the knuckles of one hand. "This is about making stupid losers know their place."

"Really?" Valerie's mouth pursed as her green eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Ah, this seems like a good time to leave," Danny mumbled, hoping none of Valerie's wrath was directed at him, even though he was partly to blame since the hamburger was meant for him.

"Williams, grow up," Dash said, glaring at his fellow jock. "Fenton wasn't even doing anything to you. Just leave him alone already. And you owe Valerie an apology."

"You're really making me sick, Baxter." Calvin made a face, his nose scrunching up in disgust. "You're defending Fenturd an awful lot lately. You crushing on him or something?"

"What in _The Joy of Cooking_ is going on in here?" Lancer shouted, standing in the doorway of the cafeteria with his hands on his hips and anger written upon his face. His sharp green eyes shot around the room, lingering upon the sloppy mess that still clung to Phantom and Valerie's clothing. If he noticed that Phantom wasn't even a student at the school, he gave no sign of it. "Who has been throwing food?"

For a moment, silence hung over the cafeteria, no one daring to speak up. Then almost as one, Danny, Phantom, and Valerie shot their hands toward Calvin, not one of them caring if they angered the jock even further by outing him to the vice-principal. After they pointed the blame on Calvin, everyone else in the cafeteria did the same, encouraged by the first three.

"Well, Mr. Williams," Lancer said, landing his gaze on the jock quietly seething with rage, "I believe it's time to take a trip down to my office."

"Do you mind if I sit in?" Ms. Spectra asked, appearing out of nowhere beside the vice-principal.

"Not at all," Lancer answered as he waited for Calvin to approach them. Once the jock was in range, Lancer grabbed Calvin by the ear and dragged him from the cafeteria. Ms. Spectra followed along behind them, and Danny sent up a silent prayer that she would be able to help Calvin like she was doing with Valerie.

At the thought of the woman, Danny turned his attention to her, seeing Valeria furiously scrub at the mess on her shirt. She must have sat sideways to face Paulina and Star because the mess was along her side. Her friends were attempting to help her clean up, though it did little good in removing the damp, greasy stains. With a worried frown, Danny walked over to where the three friends sat.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into that," Danny apologized, not wanting to be a target of Valerie's anger, but he was truly sorry that Calvin had to be a jerk and hit her by mistake.

"It's not your fault that Calvin's such a jerk," Valerie said, and with a huff, she gave up, throwing down the napkins in her frustration. "Looks like I'm going to have to spend more money on a dry cleaning bill."

"You do seem to have rotten luck," Paulina said, but it didn't sound rude or insulting. She turned to frown at Danny. "What is the problem with you guys? Do you think it's funny to ruin our clothes?"

"I really didn't mean that to happen!" Danny insisted, backing up a step at Paulina's ire.

"Don't get angry at him," Valerie said tiredly. "It's not really his fault. It's about time someone stood up to that jerk. Calvin shouldn't go around bullying people just because he's scared to let people see the real him."

"What do you mean?" Star asked, tilting her head as she tried to clean some bits of meat and shredded lettuce from her blonde hair. Danny was a bit curious about what Valerie meant too.

"Oh, you know, the fact that he does ballet." Valerie shrugged as if that was common knowledge. "Apparently, he's pretty good at it too."

Danny bit down hard on his lip to keep from laugh, but Paulina and Star didn't seem to have any problems laughing over that news. "Well, I just wanted to apologize to you properly."

"Yeah, yeah. I accept." Valerie dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "Now go back to your friends. It seems your new cutie doesn't like you over here with the three of us lovely ladies."

Danny glanced back to see that Phantom was watching them with a frown on his face as if he was restraining himself from walking over and draping himself all over Danny to announce to the cafeteria that Danny was his and his alone. Turning back around, Danny nodded his head. "Well, I'll see you around." He waved awkwardly before he returned to the table where his friends sat. "Is that jealousy?" he questioned teasingly in a quiet voice when he reached Phantom.

"You're adorable," Phantom said, his mouth twitching in a smirk when Danny blushed, "and sweet and funny and smart. I really don't know why they wouldn't find you desirable."

"Because in their eyes, I'm a loser," Danny pointed out flatly. "But that doesn't matter, because I'm interested in only you. So you don't have to worry about some women stealing me away from you."

"Good." Phantom grinned, snaking his arms around Danny's waist, but a cough made them split apart quickly. Danny flushed darkly, and he was beginning to think his face really would be a permanent shade of red, as he remembered Tucker and Sam still sitting at the table. Not to mention the whole cafeteria was probably watching them now.

"We, uh-" Danny glanced at his friends then to Phantom then down at himself. "We should probably clean up." After standing pressed up to Phantom, his own clothes were now covered in some of the meat and ketchup that had coated the front of Phantom's clothing. Already a janitor was making his way over toward the table to clean up the mess that Calvin created.

"Right," Tucker said, dragging it out as he nodded his head with a knowing smirk upon his face. "Totally not an excuse to spend some alone time with your boyfriend."

"I guess there is that too," Danny mumbled, looking away but not before he caught the frown on Sam's face. She clearly still didn't approve of her friend dating a ghost. Danny sighed internally and hoped eventually she would accept them as a couple. "I'll catch you both later in class." He grabbed hold of Phantom's hand and pulled the ghost along behind him as he headed out of the cafeteria. "Sorry you got food all over you." Danny frowned, glancing over the mess on Phantom's clothes as they walked down the hall together.

Phantom shook his head as his mouth curled upward. "It's no big deal. Being a ghost certainly has some advantages." He tugged Danny a step closer to him, and Danny glanced around the hall with a fluttering inside of him. Then an odd numbing sensation crawled over his skin, like his whole body had that pins and needles feeling when his foot would fall asleep. "Intangibility," Phantom whispered, "really helps for a quick clean up."

Danny dropped his gaze and noticed that their clothes were now clean of any messy splatter from Calvin throwing a hamburger at them. He lifted his eyebrow as he glanced back up at Phantom. "What happened to mess?"

Phantom looked away, scratching at a cheek. "I may have phased it into the floor," he mumbled. "You know, keeps the janitor from having to clean it up later." He shrugged as if being able to phase through things was no big deal.

"Don't I have the most awesome boyfriend." Danny wore a teasing grin until it hit him that the entire school, or at least the cafeteria and everyone that saw him kissing Phantom earlier in the hall knew that he was gay. Well, bi, but he was betting everyone would just go with gay even if that wasn't entirely accurate. That news was likely to circulate through the entire school by the end of the day. "Oh man!" he groaned into his hands as he held his head. "Everyone knows I like guys now."

"Is that a problem?" Phantom tilted his head, his brow wrinkling under his hood.

"I," Danny frowned, "guess not. I just didn't expect to have everyone know so quickly. People aren't exactly that accepting of that kind of relationship all the time."

"Ah." Phantom nodded in understanding. "In the Ghost Zone, gender doesn't seem all that important for relationships." They walked down the hall together, Phantom keeping his fingers hooked with Danny's, who couldn't help but blush, especially when he noticed people glancing their way. "Your friends don't seem to like me very much."

"They're just worried." Danny reached up and raked a hand through his raven locks. "You're a ghost. They don't think a human and a ghost should be together."

"Hopefully, I can convince them that I'm worthy enough to date you." Phantom squeezed the human's hand.

Danny certainly hoped that he could too. He didn't want to have a wedge driven between him and his friends because he liked a ghost. "They just need to get to know you better. Then they'll see there's nothing wrong with our relationship."

Phantom grinned as he moved closer to Danny. "Does the mean I can visit you here again?"

"W-Well," Danny mumbled as he blushed. "Maybe not every day. Once and while would be okay. During lunch though. I don't want to be distracted during class. I need to keep my grades up or I won't be allowed to work for the newspaper anymore."

Phantom nodded. "I promise not to be a distraction." A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "Can I keep watch and stop that bully from picking on you?"

Danny gave it some thought. Since he was being trained how to fight by his mother, he thought, eventually, he would be all right taking care of himself against bullies. But currently, his skills were still pretty underwhelming. "Maybe sometimes," he answered. "You do have an entire town to watch over from criminals and keeping people safe from deadly accidents. You can't be completely focused only on me."

"You do have a point." Phantom sighed, and Danny thought the ghost probably would be happy to dedicate all his time to Danny. That thought made Danny bow his head as his cheeks flushed darkly. "I can't abandon the entire town, even if it sounds tempting to spend all my time with you." He cupped Danny's reddened cheek. "I'll see you again sometime. Perhaps our next date?"

"Saturday at the tree in the park?" Danny asked hopefully.

Phantom nodded then leaned in for a soft kiss that would likely remain on Danny's mind for the rest of the day. "See you then." He smiled then turned down the hall to leave the school, and Danny stood biting his lip as he watched the ghost go. Tomorrow would feel impossibly long as he looked forward to their next date.


	16. Chapter 16

When he arrived at school the next day with his friends, Danny felt a little apprehensive as he glanced about for Calvin. He didn't see the jock after lunch, but he knew Calvin probably wouldn't be happy about getting in trouble after being pointed out as the one that was throwing food in the cafeteria. It was the anger that Calvin usually displayed that worried Danny, and he really hoped Ms. Spectra could somehow work her counseling magic on him. Of course, Valerie at least seemed like she wanted the help when she returned to the ghost after that first encounter. Calvin didn't seemed to care about getting help, and that fact left Danny glancing over his shoulder for the bully.

But as the day went on, Danny didn't see much of Calvin, though he did catch a few people snickering at him and whispering to each other about what he suspected was his sexuality. He half expected to arrive at his locker and find derogatory terms marking up the door, but it was clear with the pale green paint untouched. When Danny saw the jock toward the end of the day, Calvin was walking alongside Ms. Spectra through the hall. He looked rather miserable about having to talk to the ghostly counselor, but Danny guessed Lancer forced him to meet with Ms. Spectra in hopes that she could help Calvin with his anger issue.

"Ah, just the man I was looking for," Ms. Spectra said when she spotted Danny. She smiled pleasantly as she led Calvin over to where he stood. "We were just discussing forgiving people." She frowned severely at Calvin when the jock muttered under his breath. "Oh, come now. You have no reason to act like an immature brat just because you're a little afraid of how people might treat you if they discovered you take ballet. And for the record, there are plenty of men who do ballet and have become quite famous for it. You should be proud of your talents."

Danny had enough sense not to laugh when Ms. Spectra brought up the ballet thing. He kept a straight face when Calvin scowled at him, like he wanted Danny to laugh to give him the excuse to start a fight, even if a faculty member was standing right next to them.

Ms. Spectra stared at the jock, and when he didn't say anything, she nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "This is where you're supposed to apologize for what happened yesterday. After all, throwing food at him was completely unprompted and uncalled for."

Calvin's upper lip drew back in a snarl. "I'm sorry," he said, forcing the words out through clenched teeth, but he sounded much less sincere about it than Valerie had, "for throwing a hamburger at you."

"That's more like it." Ms. Spectra smiled as she patted a hand on Calvin's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for implying that you might be attracted to other men in front of the whole cafeteria," Danny said, feeling guilty about it now. "That was uncalled for, but I was angry at you for always harassing me." With a frown, he rubbed at the back of his neck, remembering when Calvin shoved his head under the dirty dish water in the cafeteria kitchens during their punishment.

"Yeah, well," Calvin muttered as he looked away, "there might be some truth to that." He snapped his glare back onto Danny. "And if you tell anyone-"

"Ahem!" Ms. Spectra coughed loudly, glaring over the top of her glasses at the jock.

"Sorry," Calvin grumbled. "Force of habit."

Danny decided not to mention that people would probably suspect it after what happened in the cafeteria yesterday. "Right. My lips are sealed," he said, nodding his head. "Oh! Will you be doing any performances sometime? For the ballet thing?"

"Why?" Calvin's brow wrinkled as his jaw clenched tightly. "Planning on making fun of me?"

"Calvin," Ms. Spectra said with a disapproving frown, "not everyone is out to humiliate you."

"I wasn't. I just," Danny shrugged, "heard you were pretty good, and I thought it would be cool to see you in an actual performance."

Calvin squinted his eyes at Danny. "You're planning on recording it so that you can show it off to the entire school, aren't you?"

"No." Danny shook his head. "I really, truly want to see you in a performance."

Calvin's face twisted up like he couldn't tell if Danny was lying or telling the truth. "Whatever," he grumbled, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. "Can I go now? We finished our session, didn't we?"

Ms. Spectra sighed. "Yes, I suppose we did." She shook her head as she watched Calvin head down the hall. "I have my work cut out with him. He seems determined not to let me get through to him."

"I'm sure you'll get through eventually," Danny said, trying to give her some encouragement.

Ms. Spectra smiled with a teasing hint to it. "I see Phantom picked a sweet human to be his boyfriend." She smiled a little wider as Danny flushed lightly. "But I'll keep working with that boy. Apparently-" She shook her head. "Sorry. I really shouldn't be talking about his problems to someone else."

Danny nodded in understanding as he started walking down the hall with Ms. Spectra at his side. He certainly wasn't expecting her to spill everything to him that she discussed with other students in private. He knew it wasn't any of his business what went on in the life of the jock, even if he was curious about what Ms. Spectra almost let slip to him.

"It looks like you're doing well after that whole incident last week," Danny said, relieved that those Guys in White agents didn't dare to enter the school again after Lancer sent them away. He still had to smirk a little at that. The Guys in White had certainly picked the wrong school to try to invade in order to capture, or according them eliminate, a ghost.

Ms. Spectra nodded. "The afterlife can be rather boring. Some are content with going around spooking humans while others live peacefully in the Ghost Zone. But for me and ghosts like Phantom, we need something to do with our time. A purpose, if you will. Phantom finds his purpose in helping people that need it, stopping crime, protecting people, and of course, you." She smirked when she caught the flush upon Danny's face again. "For me, my purpose is also in helping people. I feel dreadfully bored when I'm not in this kind of place." She glanced around the hall where some students still lingered after school. "Helping students deal with their problems and being someone they can confide in. That's my purpose."

"I'm glad Mr. Lancer thought to hire you." Danny paused as something caught his attention. "That's the first ghost I saw," he murmured, seeing the ghost of the cheerleader from fifty years ago. She was standing beside one of the lockers, staring at it with a forlorn look upon her faintly there face.

"Not very stable," Ms. Spectra mumbled with a worried frown on her face. "I think she's been out of the Ghost Zone too long. If she returned, she might gain more substance by absorbing the ectoplasm there."

Danny approached the cheerleader, glancing at the locker and frowning when he saw it was the same one that had caught Phantom's attention yesterday. "Hi," he said with some awkwardness as Ms. Spectra followed behind him.

The ghost, Delilah if he remembered her real name correctly, jumped in surprise, turning her red eyes onto him. "Oh, you startled me!" She placed a hand to her chest, and it was strange to see her looking so frightened when she was the ghost.

"Sorry." Danny winced. "Um, you seem rather interested in this locker. Can you feel it?"

Delilah blinked several times. "You mean you can feel it too?"

"I hadn't even noticed anything," Ms. Spectra said, frowning at the locker.

Danny shook his head. "Not really. Another ghost pointed it out to me yesterday. It seems that there might be a connection to the Ghost Zone through this locker. But he said it was sealed."

Ms. Spectra stepped between them and placed a hand to the locker. "Hm, yes, I do sense something, very faintly. Phantom was right. It could very well connect to the Ghost Zone."

"In my day, this locker belonged to boy named Sidney Poindexter." Delilah frowned at the locker. "He was probably the biggest nerd there ever was. Everyone in the school would bully him." She touched a hand to door with a sad look in her eyes. "But he was always nice. He used to help me with my homework sometimes. I was really bad at math and science." She laughed a little then reached up to wipe at her cheek where a tear slipped down.

Danny glanced at Ms. Spectra. "Do you think this locker somehow connects to him? Like if he was a ghost and he had his own lair, would that be possible?"

Ms. Spectra frowned with a hand held to her cheek as she considered. "It might be possible. But we'd have to actually open the portal to see."

Danny glanced at the locker. "Would that be dangerous? Opening a portal like that?"

"Portals exist naturally. Though I do admit stable portals are a rare sort." Ms. Spectra continued to frown. "I think before we attempt anything, we should consult with some of the other ghosts. Portal opening isn't exactly my forte." She snapped her fingers. "But Phantom may know someone who knows about it. I can ask him." She smirked and nudged Danny with her elbow. "Unless you'd rather do that."

Danny shook his head, flushing. "No, maybe you should do that." He felt a vibration against his hip that nearly made him jump in surprise. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and looked at whom was calling him. "Looks like I'm needed at the newspaper." He glanced toward Ms. Spectra. "Another reason for you to do it. I've got work and homework to do." Turning to Delilah, he frowned with a sadness taking root inside him. "I'm sorry about what happened to you. No one deserves to experience anything like that."

Delilah smiled sadly. "You're a sweet kid. At least in death, I was finally free of him. It's just," she rubbed at one arm and glanced toward the locker, "the world has changed so much. I miss the world from my time. I thought maybe, if the locker somehow is connected to Sidney, well, I don't know, maybe I could feel at home again, in my time."

"I hope you find him." Danny thought about that a moment as his brow creased. "Though maybe I shouldn't since that would mean he probably experienced a traumatic death too." He shook his head. "I just hope you can find a place that makes you feel like you belong."

"I guess some changes are good." Delilah smiled kindly. "If people are as nice as you."

Danny felt the phone vibrating in his hand and could almost feel the impatience from Mr. Carmichael through the phone. "Sorry." He winced. "I should probably take this."

Delilah shook her head. "I'm sure this lovely woman can help me just fine." The compliment clearly won Delilah some points with Ms. Spectra, who looked happy to be called lovely.

Danny nodded then said, "I'll see you later," to Ms. Spectra. Walking down the hall, he answered the call and raised his phone to his ear. "Where do you need me?"

"Danny, my boy," Mr. Carmichael said, and Danny could hear the tapping of his pen on his desk as he left the high school. "Do you have a suit?"

Danny paused. "What?" His brow furrowed with confusion at the question.

"A suit! You have one, right?"

"Well," Danny continued walking away from the high school, "yeah, I have one. Why?" His mind spun in confusion about why Mr. Carmichael wanted to know if he had a suit. He didn't often have reason to wear a suit, the last time he did being back in freshmen year when he attended one of their school dances. He didn't bother much with the school dances after freshmen year. Though given his growth spurt, he would probably need to get a new suit. He was much taller now than he was back in freshmen year.

"There's a big function taking place this Sunday night, and I want you to be there to take some pictures. Since it's pretty fancy get together, you'll have to wear a suit."

Danny nodded. "Uh, yeah, okay. Where and when do I need to be there?" He had done a lot of different news stories over the years for the newspaper, but this was the first time Mr. Carmichael was requesting him for taking pictures at some fancy function. There plenty of other photographers at the newspaper with way more years of experience on the job from something of this nature.

"Great!" Mr. Carmichael sounded pleased with his response. "The function will be at - Where did I put it?" Danny heard the man rifling through some papers. "Ah, yes, here it is! Sunday night starting at eight at The Monarch."

Danny choked, tripping over his feet when he heard where the function was taking place. The Monarch was probably the fanciest place in Amity Park to hold parties and other functions. Whoever was hosting this function had to be a fairly big name.

"I'll see you there," Mr. Carmichael continued, hardly noticing Danny's shock. "Be sure to arrive promptly."

The line went dead, leaving Danny standing in the middle of the sidewalk gawking like an idiot. Yup, he definitely needed to get a new suit if he was going to attend this function like Mr. Carmichael wanted. Perhaps he could convince his parents to pay for the new suit.

After stuffing his phone back into his pocket, Danny started heading home. He raked a hand through his hair as he thought about the next two days. He had a date with Phantom tomorrow night, and then the next night, he would attend the fancy function. As soon as he got home, he would need to get started right away on his homework to make sure everything was finished up before the function Sunday night. He turned the corner to the street of his house and nearly stumbled as something darted out at his feet. Blinking in surprise, he twisted about to follow the bouncing puppy parading around him. The surprising part, though, was that the puppy was bright green with vivid red eyes.

"Hey there, little fellow," Danny said, grinning as he crouched down before the puppy. It jumped up and tried to balance on Danny's legs but ended up phasing right through them, leaving a chill creeping over Danny's thighs. "Not too tangible there, are you?" He chuckled as the ghost puppy barked and pranced around in a circle in front of him. He always wanted a puppy, but he doubted his parents would approve of a ghost puppy.

"Ha!" shouted someone, and Danny jerked his head up to see a man in a white suit running toward him. Bald, of course. "I found you, you spectral pest!"

When he saw the man raising his weapon toward the puppy, Danny immediately launched to his feet to stand in the man's way. "He hasn't done anything," he stated firmly, glaring at the man as he placed his hands on his hips. The puppy stayed behind him, peeking around his legs at the agent.

"Kid, I advise you to get out of the way."

Danny frowned. Either this man wasn't one of the two that showed up at school, or they just had really bad memory. But he also didn't bother to remember too much about the two men, except their white suits and the fact that they were bald.

"No," Danny said, not wavering on his stance to protect the ghost.

"What exactly is going on here?"

Danny turned his gaze away from the agent, his eyes narrowing a touch more at the man that came up behind the agent. The new man didn't wear a white suit, or the ridiculous sunglasses, like the agent, but he dressed sharply, looking like a well off business man.

"Nothing to bother yourself with, Mister," the Guys in White agent stated, keeping his weapon trained on where the ghost puppy was. "This is a matter for a professional. I ask that you civilians leave the premises before you get hurt."

Danny's eyebrow rose just a touch as he stared at the business man. Apparently, he wasn't with the Guys in White after all. "This ghost has done nothing wrong," he said, refusing to give the agent a shot at harming the ghost. "He's only a playful puppy, and like all puppies, he probably just wants someone to play fetch with. He doesn't deserve to be hunted down by some overzealous goon that thinks it's okay to shoot at every single ghost despite that they have no interest in harming anyone."

"Kid, you have no idea-"

"Now, now," the business man said, cutting off the agent as he placed a hand on the gun and forced the bald man to lower his weapon. "This young man makes a very good point. Seeing as this ghost," he directed a hand toward the puppy, "has done nothing to warrant being hunted down, I think it would be wise for you to leave."

"It is my duty to-"

"To keep the people of this town safe from the threat of ghosts," the business man rattled off as if the whole thing bored him. "But as this ghost isn't a threat, you have no reason to do harm to it. I suggest you look elsewhere for a ghost that's _actually_ a threat to people."

The agent glared, Danny assumed, at the business man. Then after a moment, he growled in frustration and shouldered his weapon. "I warn you not to interfere with Guys in White business again." He turned and marched away with a huff of annoyance, clearly frustrated to allow a ghost to go free.

"You didn't have to do that," Danny said, shifting awkwardly now that the Guys in White agent was gone.

The business man shook his head as he crouched down and held out his hand. "I heard the commotion." He smiled with a strange smugness about it as the ghost puppy came over to him. His hand passed through the ghost as the puppy tried to nudge his head against the hand. "So I thought I would offer you a hand of help." He glanced up at Danny. "But unfortunately, I do have things to attend to, so I must be off now."

"Oh, right. Of course," Danny agreed with a nod. "I don't want to keep you."

The man stood as the ghost puppy danced around between them with happy little barks. "Then," he bowed his head slightly, "I shall be off." He passed Danny and strode off down the street.

Danny stared after him for a moment before shaking himself out of it. "Well then," he paused to think about it, "Cujo, ready to go home? Uh, well, if you want to follow me." He scratched his head, not sure if the ghost puppy would actually walk the rest of the way home with him. But Cujo barked happily as he totted beside Danny down the street.


	17. Chapter 17

"That smells delicious, Mom," Danny said when he entered the kitchen to smell the wonderful aroma filling the room as his mother bent down before the open oven. He wandered over to her to see what she was pulling out of the oven. "Mm, your three cheese casserole! Always good. Can I box some up to take with me?" He moved over to one of the drawers to grab a Tupperware container as his mother set the glass baking pan on the stovetop.

"You're going out?" His mother frowned, turning to him as she removed the pot holders from her hands.

"Uh, yeah. Is that a problem?" Danny returned to where his mother stood and fished out a serving spoon from the drawer next to the oven. He lifted his eyebrows at his mother as he held the serving spoon poised over the casserole. "The sky is supposed to be really clear tonight. A perfect time to get some shots of the stars."

His mother folded her arms, continuing to frown at him. "Did you get your homework finished?"

"Most of it." Danny dug the serving spooning into the casserole and scooped a good amount of it into the Tupperware. "The English assignment should be pretty easy to finish up tomorrow. And I'm struggling a bit with the math assignment, but I'm sure I can get it finished before the function tomorrow night." He finished putting the lid on the Tupperware then turned to his mother with a wince. "Uh, I kind of need a suit for that since I've outgrown my old one. Think I can have a few extra bucks to get one?"

"Danny," his mother said in that firm tone, "isn't part of the reason you got a job so that you can pay for things on your own?"

"Yes, and I'm saving up for a new camera and perhaps a car, or some other mode of transportation, one day. Please!" Danny begged, stuffing the Tupperware into his bag so that he could clasp his hands together before him. He put on his best pleading look, hoping it would encourage his mother to lend him some money. "Just this one time. You know how expensive suits can be. And if I get one now, I'll have it ready for any big events that come up in the future."

His mother stared at him, violet eyes considering as her jaw set to one side. "I suppose I could lend you some money. But I expect you to repay it. Not," she held up a hand before Danny could open his mouth, "in money. I expect you to do some more chores around the house in return for the money I'm giving you."

"Yeah, sure." Danny bobbed his head. "Whatever chores you want me to do, I'll do them."

"This ghost is amazing," his father said as he entered the kitchen with the ghost puppy trotting in after him with his purple tongue hanging from his open mouth as he panted. "It's like having a real dog but without the messy clean up or worrying about pet allergies." He grinned happily until he glanced down at Cujo. "Now if only we could give it a more solid form to allow for actual interactions. It's kind of hard to play fetch when it can't touch anything on the physical plane."

Danny smiled with relief as he stowed the Tupperware container into his bag. When he returned home yesterday after getting the call from Mr. Carmichael, he was afraid his parents would be outraged at seeing Cujo. There was some tension when his parents saw the ghost, still not quite accepting that ghosts could be anything but dangerous. They sat down and talked about it until dinner, Danny trying his best to convince his parents that Cujo wasn't going to causing any trouble. The fact that Cujo was intangible and couldn't go around destroying the house was actually a pretty big selling point on convincing them. After a while of observing the ghost while they spoke, they came to the conclusion that Cujo was indeed no threat and was only interested in receiving some attention from humans like any normal puppy.

"Well, you," Danny eyed his father with some curious suspicion as he still wondered about the work his parents did in the basement, "invent stuff. I'm sure you could probably invent something that would allow an intangible ghost to still interact with it. Then you could play fetch with Cujo."

"Hey!" his father said, his mouth pulling into a wide grin. "That's not too bad an idea. I could probably get something whipped up by tomorrow if I pull an all nighter."

His mother sighed, shaking her head. "Now look what you've done. He's going to be up the whole night tinkering with ideas."

Danny winced. "Sorry. Uh, well, I should probably get going. I'll be back by curfew." He gave his parents quick goodbyes before he headed off to the front door. As he started off toward the park, he turned over what just happened with his parents. His father seemed to jump on the invention idea awfully quick. What would his father even know about ghosts and making something that could interact with both the tangible and intangible? His mother's earlier comment that there was a lot that he didn't know about his parents' past wiggled back to the front of his mind. What exactly didn't he know? Why were they keeping it secret? After letting it roll around his mind for a while, he shook those thoughts away.

Danny made pretty good time, reaching the park quickly. The nervousness fluttered about inside him as he neared the hill with the tree on it. It seemed silly, really, to be nervous about meeting Phantom. It was their second date after all, but he couldn't help the jittery feeling. Simply thinking about Phantom would draw a blush to his face and make his heart beat just a touch faster. There was still so much more to know about Phantom, but, and Danny frowned, there was a lot that Phantom himself didn't know too. The frown remained on his face as he reached the tree.

"What's wrong?" Phantom's inquiry jostled Danny out of his thoughts.

When he lifted his head to see the ghost waiting for him, Danny smiled widely then shook his head. "I was just thinking about some things." He walked over to the tree and took a seat in the grass.

"What things?" Phantom wore a curious expression as he joined the human, though he floated cross legged an inch or two off the ground.

"About you," Danny mumbled, bowing his head as the redness returned. "You know, about how you don't remember much about yourself beyond a year ago." He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "I was just thinking, well-" He glanced over at Phantom, who stared at him with an expectant look in his green eyes. "Your earliest memories came from being in Wisconsin, right?"

Phantom nodded. "I woke up with no real memory of myself, and it kind of freaked me out. That whole part is really pretty much a blur to me."

Danny stared sadly at Phantom, trying to imagine what that must have been like for the ghost. "So I was thinking," he bit his lip nervously, "maybe that's a place to start. You know, maybe there's something in Wisconsin that will help you know who you are. Or who you were before you, um, well, took the name Phantom."

Phantom placed his hands behind him and leaned back on them, despite being a few inches off the ground. His mouth pursed to one side as he squinted at the night sky. "I don't really mind not knowing though." He lowered his gaze to Danny and grinned. "After all, not knowing brought me here to you. I might not have ever come here if I knew who I was before."

Danny bowed his head, blushing darkly. "I just thought maybe-" He shook his head, trying to push away that warm twisting sensation inside him. "If you're happy, I won't look into it." When he glanced up, he caught Phantom smiling at him. He quickly dug into his bag to grab the Tupperware to use as a distraction from the way Phantom made him feel. "Um, so," he stumbled over his words as he pried open the lid, "did Spectra speak to you yet?"

Phantom nodded, tilting his head to curiously look at what was in the Tupperware. "She caught up to me yesterday evening long after the high school was closed."

"It's just my mom's three cheese casserole," Danny explained as he dug his fork into the goopy mess inside the Tupperware. "I just figured this way we wouldn't have to waste time going to pick something up." And he wouldn't have to worry about bumping into anyone again like on their last date when he ran into Dash. After eating a bite, Danny asked, "Were you able to help Delilah? Or does she prefer Annalisa?"

"She didn't really say." Phantom lifted a hand to scratch at his cheek. "But yeah, I got in contact with this ghost I know named Wulf."

"Wulf?" Danny repeated in his surprise at the name. "He isn't an actual... Is he?"

"Yes, Wulf is a ghost that looks like a wolf." Phantom chuckled. "Maybe it's a nickname. I don't know. It's kind of hard to understand him since he only speaks in Esperanto, and I'm not overly familiar with that language. It's sort of a lot of guessing with him." He shrugged as Danny continued to eat his dinner. "But anyway, he was able to open up the portal linking through that locker. That's sort of his ability. He can tear open portals using his claws. The locker linked up to a lair within the Ghost Zone that looked a lot like your high school. Except everything was in black and white. And well, looked a lot older. When we entered, a lot of the ghosts there were picking on this other ghost. Delilah, was it? She's quite frightening when she's angry. She started telling off all the ghosts bullying the other one. I think she'll do quite well there. She at least looked happy when we left her and sealed up the portal so that it wouldn't endanger the school."

"That's good." Danny sighed with relief. "I'm glad she's able to live out her afterlife somewhere that she feels she belongs. And it's good that the school won't be endangered. I don't think Mr. Lancer would be happy if something dangerous came out of that portal."

"Well, I certainly don't want to cause any trouble for you." Phantom smiled, and Danny ducked his head, nibbling on the casserole on his fork. "I have to admit. Dates aren't really something I'm that familiar with. Are they all supposed to involve sitting around talking? Or should we go do some sort of activity?"

Danny shrugged. "I can't say I have a lot of experience with the whole date thing either."

"Seriously?"

Danny blinked several times when he caught the gawking expression on the ghost's face. "W-Well, yeah, I mean, until seeing you, I hadn't even really thought about being attracted to men. And women, well, I never really had much luck there."

Phantom shook his head. "They missed out then. Because you are a wonderful," he took Danny's hand, "thoughtful," his lips brushed over the back of Danny's hand, "caring," he grinned as he glanced up to catch the blush on Danny's cheeks, "boyfriend."

"I," Danny paused to lick his lips then swallow as he stared into the vibrant green of Phantom's eyes, "don't think being labeled a loser helped my chances."

"They're fools then." Phantom frowned as he laced their fingers together and gently squeezed Danny's hand. "You are anything but a loser, and if they can't see that, they must be blind."

Danny shrugged his shoulder. "The popular crowd doesn't exactly spend a lot of time getting to know the so-called losers of the school. They pretty much label us then treat us like trash for the next four years."

Sadness entered Phantom's eyes as he raised their hands to his mouth. "If experiences like that are in my past, then I'm glad I can't recall them. If I could help you forget them, I would do whatever possible."

Danny shook his head as he smiled at Phantom. "They aren't fun memories, but those experiences did make me who I am today."

Phantom smiled, resting his chin on their joined hands, and Danny felt that warm, fluttering inside him again. But the ghost's expression changed quickly as he turned his head. His brow pinched together, and he got that look in his eyes that Danny often saw when he was facing off against one of the violent ghosts.

"What is it?" Danny asked, frowning as Phantom pulled his hand free and stood.

"Another ghost is nearby," Phantom murmured softly with his gaze trained toward the sky.

"Maybe it's just one of your friends," Danny suggested, but there was something in Phantom's posture that made him doubt it. He quickly popped the top back on the Tupperware and stuffed it into his bag. "Like how Ember turned up last time."

Phantom shook his head then turned his gaze back to his date. Danny's blue eyes grew wide as he noticed something in the distance above Phantom. It happened so quickly that he barely had time to throw his arms up to protect his head. Explosions sounded all around him, and Danny tensed up, his heart pounding in his chest. After silence followed for several moments, Danny tentatively lowered his arms to glance around them. Phantom stood before him with his arms raised up, and a shield of translucent green surrounded them. Twisting around, Danny saw that smoke rose from the ground outside the shield, and he gasped, shocked, when he saw that old tree that had stood on the hill for much longer than he had lived was nothing more than a smoldering mound of ashes in a large hole gouged out of the hill.

"W-What was that?" Danny demanded, scrambling to his feet. Panic and fear were raging about inside him.

"I think we'll have to call our date short." Phantom frowned as he glanced back at Danny. "I'm sorry. I have to deal with this ghost. I don't want you to get hurt. When I drop this shield, I want you to run. Don't argue. Don't turn back. Get out of here before you get hurt."

"But-"

"Danny, please!" Phantom shouted, concern shining in his eyes. "I can't let you get hurt. Not when it's my fault. So get ready to run."

"Phantom," Danny took a step forward before stopping, "be careful. I don't want you getting hurt either."

"Don't worry." Phantom wore a cocky grin. "I won't lose."

Danny wanted to smile and feel relieved, but he really didn't feel that confident, not after seeing the destruction surrounding them. He nodded to Phantom, though, and a moment later, the shield came down. Danny hesitated, watching as Phantom shot into the sky to fight the other ghost. He saw another shield go up as Phantom defended himself against a second explosive attack that pushed him back in the sky.

"Please be safe," Danny whispered before he turned and scrambled through the craters left in the hill. Once he was on solid ground again, he booked it away from the park. He didn't want to run. He didn't want to leave Phantom behind. But what could he really do against a ghost? He might be learning how to defend himself from bullies, but that was fighting against a human opponent. He wouldn't even be able to touch a ghost. The sounds of fighting faded in the distance as he raced down the streets and back to his house.

When he reached his house, Danny was out of breath from the all out sprint from the park. He took a moment, bent over with his hands on his knees as he breathed in deeply, trying to calm his racing heart. After a couple of minutes, he entered the house, looking a little less like he just ran away from a dangerous ghost fight. He thought maybe he could slip up to his bedroom, but his parents were in the front room.

"You're home early," his mother said, looking up from the book that was laid across her lap. "I thought you'd be out late, getting lost in the stars again."

Danny shrugged as he came to stand in the doorway. "Well, I remembered my homework and decided, you know, I should probably just get it finished now. Since I'll have to go suit shopping tomorrow and then the whole function thing. I can look at the stars another night."

"Smart plan." His father grinned at him, taking his gaze away from whatever he was working on as Cujo laid curled at his feet. Apparently the ghost puppy took a real liking to his father, which made Danny smile. "But don't stay up too late. Study is all good and well, but you have to remember your health too. A good mind is a well rested one."

Danny chuckled. "I'll remember that." He headed up the stairs to his bedroom then did as he said he would and got out his homework. But he quickly found it wasn't easy to actually focus on it. His mind kept turning back to Phantom. How was the fight going? Was Phantom okay? Who was that other ghost? Why did it come after Phantom? The ghosts that Phantom fought usually were terrorizing the town. They didn't normally come directly after Phantom.

"Coward," Danny muttered to himself, hanging his head as he raked his hand through his raven hair. He should have stayed. But what could he have done? He couldn't fight ghosts. But he felt like he should have done something more than simply running away. Shaking his head, he turned his mind back to his homework, determined to get it finished.


	18. Chapter 18

Danny sighed out as he finished off the last of his homework, happy to have it over with and no longer hanging over his head for the rest of the weekend. He set his pen down on his open notebook then frowned. Right now, he really wished the he had some way to contact Phantom. With his homework done, he no longer had anything to distract his mind from his worry about his boyfriend. Was Phantom okay? Did he defeat that ghost? What did that ghost want with Phantom anyway? Danny leaned back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms. He wasn't going to be able to sleep with these questions on his mind, and he had no way of getting the answers.

When he heard a whining bark, Danny twisted around in his chair and found Cujo sitting before him. He smiled when he saw the ghost puppy. Until he noticed the worried expression in the puppy's eyes and the way Cujo reacted, jerking his head before whining again and barking. Danny's brow furrowed. What was going on with Cujo?

"Shh!"

Danny launched out of his chair and to his feet, spinning around with a sense of panic coming over him. He very nearly breathed a sigh of relief, happy to see Phantom standing at his window with a half grin on his face and a finger raised to his lips to signal silence. His relief was short lived, however, when he noticed the tears in Phantom's costume, and he felt like he couldn't breathe with the panic seizing him at the sight of thick green oozing from some of Phantom's injuries. There was even a cut over his brow, and he had his left eye closed as the green seeped downward toward it.

"Oh god," Danny mumbled before he could finally move. "Phantom!" He rushed over, closing the distance between them and caught the ghost before he could drop. "Oh god. You're going to be okay. I promise!" He could feel the green stuff seeping through his shirt and tried to ignore that it was probably Phantom's blood. Did all ghosts bleed green? No, that wasn't important right now. He needed to help Phantom. But what was he even supposed to do? "I - I think there are bandages and stuff in the bathroom." He pulled Phantom's arm around his shoulder, and the ghost leaned his weight against the human. Danny didn't like how light Phantom felt, much less than would expect a normal human to weigh.

"You don't have too," Phantom said as Danny led them out of his room and toward the bathroom. Cujo followed behind them, still whining unhappily. Phantom forced a smile onto his face, but it wasn't fooling Danny. The ghost was badly injured, far more injured than he had ever been in any other fight. "I just - I should probably get to the Ghost Zone. I can recover, recycling the natural ectoplasm in the atmosphere there to replenish my energy and heal. I'll be fine."

"And how are you going to get there?" Danny demanded, worry shining in his eyes despite the glare he gave the ghost. "Please don't push this off like it's nothing. Do you even realize how terrified I am for you right now?"

"Danny, what is all this noise?" his mother asked, and Danny tensed up as he heard her footsteps coming up the stairs. When he turned his gaze down the hall, Danny gulped at his mother, who stood at the top of the stairs. Her mouth hung open as she stared at the pair with Cujo still behind them. "Daniel James Fenton," his mother's mouth pursed as she folded her arms, "just what is the meaning of this?"

Danny forced a nervous chuckle out, trying to figure out how to explain this. "You - You know Phantom." He gestured at the ghost with one hand. "You know, the ghost hero that's been appearing all over the newspaper recently."

His mother's violet eyes narrowed, and they flicked downward where the green blood was leaving drops on the floor. "And what exactly is he doing here at our house?"

"Um, well, you see," Danny fumbled, but he couldn't find a decent explanation. With a sigh, he bowed his head in defeat. "Phantom is, well," he glanced at the ghost, whose eyes were starting to droop shut, "my boyfriend." He cringed, waiting for the outburst.

"What?" his mother shouted, reminding Danny all too much of his friends' response when he mentioned dating Phantom.

"Mom, can we do the whole thing later?" Danny pleaded, glancing again at Phantom. "I need to help him. He's hurt really badly. And I - I really don't know what I can do to help him. I'm scared."

His mother frowned, her gaze focused on the ghost at her son's side. "Come with me." She turned to head back down the stairs.

Danny hesitated, but after a moment, he followed her. "Just hang in there," he whispered to Phantom, trying his best to sound encouraging. "You're going to be fine."

"Why is everyone shouting?" his father asked with that confused expression that often led people to believe he wasn't that intelligent. But his face quickly twisted to shock when Danny came into view with Phantom. "What is the ghost kid doing here?" He snapped his gaze to his wife.

"We'll deal with the why later," she said, continuing down the hall to the kitchen. "For now, let's focus on helping Phantom."

"Helping him?" his father questioned as he stumbled after his wife.

"Dad, he's not some evil threat," Danny said, frowning as he helped Phantom toward the kitchen. He thought they were making progress on his parents trusting in the ghosts that weren't violent. "He helps people."

"Danny, I understand what you're saying," his father said, stopping in the middle of the kitchen to turn back to his son. He placed a hand on Danny's shoulder as he frowned. "If you trust in Phantom, then I'll trust in your judgment. But you have to understand. Helping Phantom means that we have to break the silence we agreed to when we contracted with the government."

Danny opened his mouth but failed to think of anything to say. He hadn't realized that his mother was planning to break that part of the contract. "Well, I'm certainly not going to tell anyone about this."

"I should hope you wouldn't," his mother said as she unlocked the door to the basement.

Danny stared at the open doorway with some hesitation. He would finally get to see the work that his parents did. He was almost scared to actually follow them down the stairs. But Phantom was more important right now. Since coming down the stairs, Phantom hadn't spoken, leaning more and more on Danny as his feet dragged with each step. Danny didn't argue when his father suddenly lifted Phantom into his arms. He followed stiffly after his father as the large man headed down the stairs into the basement. His mother stayed back, letting them both pass before she pulled the door closed and locked it behind them.

He didn't know what he really expected to find in the basement. From all the banging he heard from his parents, he suspected some sort of giant machinery. It wasn't any sort of state of the art laboratory like one might think when they knew his parents were funded by the government. The walls were all sleek, shiny metal with a large octagonal black and yellow striped doorway set into the far wall, and there were tables with various mechanical parts and science equipment, like vials and beakers with different colored liquids in them. There were racks with different inventions that looked like weapons, and Danny froze as his gaze locked on them. A few of them looked so very familiar. Snapping his gaze around, he gawked at his parents.

"You _work_ for the Guys in White?" Danny shouted, disgusted by the thought of his parents working for those jerks. His father had laid Phantom down on a table in the center of the room, and Danny's anger abated slightly when he looked at the ghost. Phantom looked paler than usual, and the bright green stood out starkly against his skin.

"I can assure you at the moment we aren't very pleased about that either." His mother pulled over a tray of medical tools with a furious expression twisting her expression. "We've been talking with them ever since ghosts started popping up here more, and we are not pleased with their actions." She turned her gaze onto him, and Danny flinched at the anger in her eyes. "They hurt you. They want to blame on you for jumping in the way, but they never should have been there while there were students and faculty around. They should have been more discreet and been more cautious around civilians to ensure that no one got hurt. But I'm beginning to question their work altogether now! Running around completely disregarding whether a ghost is an actual threat or not!"

"Mads," his father said gently, reaching over to place a hand on her shoulder. "Be angry with them later. Right now, this ghost needs you."

His mother took a deep breath. "You're right. You two stay out of my way and let me work."

"We'll just be upstairs." His father dropped his hands on Danny's shoulders, turning him back toward the stairs. "Talking." The firmness in his voice made Danny gulp nervously as he was pushed back up to the kitchen. "Your mother is a lot better with the whole field medic stuff."

Danny took a seat at the kitchen table as his father locked up the basement door again. He stared at it even after his father moved away to join him at the table. He worried about Phantom, but letting his mother tend to the ghost's injuries was about the only thing he could really do at the moment.

"So what's the story with you and this ghost kid?" his father questioned with concern in his voice and on his face, jerking Danny's attention back to him.

"Um," Danny mumbled, picking absently at the skin around one nail. He had already blabbed the secret to his mother, but now that he wasn't completely freaking out about helping Phantom, it seemed harder to say it. "Tonight, Phantom and I were on our second date when another ghost attacked. He told me to run away, so I-"

"Daniel," his father cut him off with a stern glare that made Danny shrink in his seat. "First off, I want to say I'm very disappointed that you didn't think you could tell your mother and me that you're gay."

"Well, bi, technically," Danny mumbled, still waiting on the outburst and lecture.

"My apologies." His father's mouth pressed thin, a hint of betrayal in his dark blue eyes. "Your mother and I wouldn't have cared that you like other boys. You're still our son." He reached across the table to cover Danny's hand with his own larger hand. "But I'm not sure I can approve of this whole dating a ghost thing."

"Dad, you don't need to say anything," Danny said, raising his hand to stop his father before he could get started on his argument for why his son shouldn't date a ghost. "I didn't just wake up and magically become attract to dead people and start dating them. I thought about it long and hard. It's crazy. I know. A human and a ghost shouldn't be romantically involved with each other. There are, like, ten billion living people in the world that I could choose from. Okay, not really. There are obviously some that would be inappropriate to start a relationship with. But that's not the point." Danny shook his hands before him. "The point is, while I know I have plenty of options with living people, that doesn't erase the fact that I feel an attraction to Phantom, as crazy as that is. I don't expect this to be something that you and Mom are going to be okay with right off the bat. But can you at least give this a chance? I really like Phantom. And he," Danny bowed his head with a flush of color rising to his cheeks, "really likes me too."

His father sighed, running a hand over his face. "I can't believe this." His hand fell back to the table, and he stared at his son with great concern in his expression. He didn't accept his son being in a relationship with a ghost, but Danny didn't expect his parents to be perfectly okay with it anymore than he expected his friends to be okay with it. "I want you to be happy," his father said after silence fell over them for several long minutes. "This isn't how I would have expected you to find happiness, but I'll _try_ to be okay with it." He got that sternly Dad look on his face. "But just because he's a ghost, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be cautious. I don't want you just jumping into bed with him."

"Oh god!" Danny buried his face in his hands as his cheeks burned darkly in embarrassment. "Dad, we are so not having sex. We've only been on two dates so far. We want to get to know each other more before we," he shrugged his shoulders, feeling awkward discussing this with his father, "take the next step."

"Well, we at least raised you right." His father nodded, seeming proud to hear that answer from his son. "But there are still some concerns we should take into consideration. After all, we don't know how a ghost's ectoplasm might affect a human during the course of-"

"Dad!" Danny shouted with a slight whine in his voice. "Can we not talk about things like sex?"

"Right. Sorry. I guess I can't help the scientist part of me." His father winced. "But I don't want this ghost kid sneaking into your room at night. Maybe we should create a localized shield to set up in your room."

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes, but a grinned tugged at his mouth. If his dad was talking about the subject in such a calm manner, then it at least meant he was trying to accept the relationship between his son and a ghost. "I don't think that's really necessary. Phantom's not going to come sneaking into my bedroom - Tonight doesn't count!" He pointed a finger at his father before an argument could be made. "He was badly injured and came seeking help."

"All right. I'll concede your point there."

"Well, I did what I could," his mother said as she came out of the basement. Her jumpsuit was smeared with green, and the sight made Danny's stomach churn.

Danny swallowed, but his throat felt impossibly dry as he stood. "Is Phantom-" He couldn't even bring himself to finish the question.

"I think he'll be okay. I patched up his injuries, but I think he has a point. He'll heal up better in the Ghost Zone." She reached up and pulled back the hood of the jumpsuit. "He's gone back already. Now we should probably talk-"

"Already done." Her husband stopped her. "It may not be easy, but Danny seems to really care for this ghost. And at least, the ghost kid seems to be a good one."

His mother sighed then glanced around at the three of them. "Well, we should probably wash up." They all had some of Phantom's ectoplasm on them. "And then we should clean up whatever mess was trailed through the house." She placed a hand on Danny's shoulder and turned him back to the basement door so that they could all take a biohazard shower. Danny groaned at the thought of it, but he was happy his parents didn't have a complete freak out to learn he was dating a ghost.


	19. Chapter 19

"So your parents know now?" Sam asked, leaning against his desk with her arms folded as she lifted her eyebrows at him, her mouth thinning.

"And they didn't completely freak out on you?" Tucker gawked at him.

Danny sighed, trying but failing to work his tie. "We talked about it. They aren't entirely happy with it."

But his parents did seem overly curious about the whole relationship between a human and a ghost. Danny shuddered to think that they might use this opportunity to observe the affects dating a ghost had their son. It was merely the scientist in them, that need to research and uncover the truth where ghosts were concern, that had them poking around at the details of Danny's relationship with Phantom. Though some of it was probably them being overly concerned parents worrying over their child. The good thing about everything being out in the open between him and his parents was that they could now discuss more things openly now. His parents were quite interested in hearing about everything he had learned when he encountered ghosts.

"But they aren't about to go all Montague and Capulet on us and ban us from ever seeing each other again." Danny gave up the tie, growing too frustrated with his fumbling to even continue trying.

"I always hated that play," Sam muttered as she stepped in front of him to tie it for him. "But I'm glad they aren't being complete jerks like how some parents can be when they don't approve of their child's choice of boyfriend or girlfriend."

"Does that mean you're warming up to Phantom?" Danny grinned with a touch of hope.

"Well," Sam frowned, lifting her violet eyes up to him, "I suppose he wasn't that bad. I think eventually I could really like him."

"But so," Tucker spoke up as Sam finished her work on Danny's dark blue tie, "Phantom turned up here bleeding after a fight with another ghost? Any idea what ghost it was? If there's a ghost out there that's too strong even for Phantom-"

"You're not going to suggest we mention something to those jerks in white, are you?" Danny narrowed his eyes with suspicion at his friend, who glanced away with a gulp. "No, I didn't get a really good look at the ghost, and Phantom was in no condition to really go into detail about the fight, and after Mom helped him, he had to go back to the Ghost Zone to heal up."

"Okay. We all know that the Guys in White are, well, crazy," Tucker said. "They go after ghosts that aren't even harming anyone, and they don't care if an innocent person gets caught in the crossfire. We've seen that when you jumped in the way to protect Ms. Spectra. And we also know that they're willing to threaten arresting, or possibly worse, people who stand up to them. But that ghost sounds like some serious trouble."

"Yeah, but even if we told them about this, they wouldn't see Phantom as an ally," Sam pointed out, a serious frown drawing across her face. "They'll try to take out Phantom just as much as that other ghost."

Tucker winced. "You bring up a good point."

"I think the question is why this ghost came out of nowhere to attack Phantom." Sam turned her gaze back onto Danny. "I know he's fought against ghosts causing trouble here since he first turned up, but none of them have sought vengeance against him. Why now?"

Danny shrugged with a shake of his head. "I don't know. Maybe I can get some information out of Phantom next time I see him." He checked the time and sighed. "Think you can give me a ride to The Monarch?"

Tucker released a low whistle. "That's a pretty fancy place for a ghost to take you on a date."

Danny punched his friend on the shoulder, but not too hard. "It's not a date. It's work." He rolled his eyes. "And I already told you about the function."

"Sure." Sam headed for the door of Danny's bedroom. "I can drop you off there on the way after I dump him off." She nodded her head toward their friend.

"Hey!" Tucker protested. "You don't have to say that like I'm a sack of garbage."

"Oh, come on, Tuck." With a teasing chuckle, Danny nudged his friend in the ribs with an elbow before he grabbed his camera from his desk. "You know she's just kidding. But seriously, where are you heading after that?" He lifted a curious eyebrow at Sam. "You make it sound like you have something else planned."

"No," Sam said a touch too quickly as she shook her head. "Nothing. I've got nothing planned."

Danny exchanged a suspicious glance with Tucker, neither man believing her. "So," a slow grin tugged at Danny's mouth, "Kwan then?" He didn't need a response after catching the blush on Sam's cheeks.

"It's not a date," Sam said firmly, her eyes narrowing at her friends as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "It's just hanging out. I'm pretty sure Paulina, Valerie, Star, Dash, and some other football guys are going to be there too. So it's not a date."

"What - Ow!" Tucker frowned as he rubbed at his ribs after Danny elbowed him.

"Sam, you have no reason to be embarrassed about going out with Kwan. I think it's great." Danny grinned at her. "And you never know. If you miss out giving him a chance now, you might end up regretting it later. What's the worst that could happen? You go on a few dates and realize that the two of you aren't a perfect match? Oh well. At least you gave it the chance before completely writing it off."

"Sometimes, I feel like I'm talking to a completely different person when you start being all deep and logical." Sam eyed him with some suspicion, like she suspected pod people came into his room in the middle of the night and swapped him out with an impostor.

"Yeah," Tucker agreed. "Since when are you Mr. Date Doctor?"

Danny shrugged. "I guess some of Jazz's psychology rubbed off on me. Maybe I'll take some psych courses when I go to college." Becoming an astronaut would be a dream job for him. Becoming a photographer for a newspaper, or even a magazine, was a more realistic idea to which he already got his foot in the door. Having some knowledge in psychology could always be a fall back idea. He laughed to himself, shaking his head. Jazz had definitely rubbed off on him with the way he was already thinking ahead to career options.

"Well, if photographer doesn't work out, maybe you can go into couples counseling," Sam said with a hint of teasing in her smirk.

"Maybe you all should start paying me whenever I hand out love advice," Danny joked, although he wouldn't mind if they wanted to throw a few extra bucks his way. "I'm heading off to the function," he called to his parents. "I'll see you when I get back."

"All right. I have fun," his mother said, appearing in the kitchen doorway.

Danny rolled his eyes with a small grin. "It's for work. I'm not going there to have fun." After their goodbyes, Danny and his friends left the house and headed to Sam's car.

"So where exactly are you and Kwan going on your date?" Tucker asked once they were in the car and on the road.

"Tucker, I swear-"

"No, no!" Tucker held up his hands in defense. "I'm not asking to tease you. I'm actually curious. I mean, if you do decide to date Kwan, then we should be able to talk about it, right? And we should probably get used to the idea that Kwan might be tagging along whenever we hang out with you."

Sam shot a glare at Tucker, but after a moment, she shrugged. "Nothing special really. We're just going to a movie."

"Okay. But watch out for when he does that whole arm stretch thing."

"Tucker, don't tease her," Danny scolded, seeing half of Tucker's grin.

"Hey, I'm serious!" Tucker twisted around in his seat to face Danny. "The whole group thing might just be because he's nervous. He's probably pretty shocked that Sam would even agree to do anything with him. Just you watch. He's going to do the arm stretch thing. All guys do that. Especially when watching a movie."

Sam stopped the car with a harder jerk than necessary. "Oh, look. We're at your house," she said then turned to shoot a glare at Tucker. "Now get out."

"All right. All right," Tucker grumbled as he got out of the car.

"Seriously can't help yourself, can you?" Danny questioned as he got out to take the front seat.

"I know." Tucker sighed. "Sometimes it just slips out."

"Try working on that. See you later." Danny patted him on the shoulder then climbed into the car.

"Yeah. See you." Tucker waved before he headed up to the front door of his house.

"Tucker wasn't trying to be mean," Danny said once the car was in motion again. "You know he sometimes talks without thinking. Always wants to go for a laugh."

"I'm just-" Sam shook her head. "I'm already kind of nervous about this whole thing, and talking about it isn't really helping."

Danny nodded, understanding that nervous feeling when it came to going on a date with someone he really liked. "If he does do the arm stretch thing, and that's overreaching what you're comfortable with, you have every right tell him no."

"You say that like I don't know that already." Sam rolled her eyes.

"I know." Danny chuckled. "But I also know you're very capable of really hurting a guy that touches you in any way that you don't like. Now if we were talking about some jerk who was grabbing at you inappropriately, I'd be all for you punching his lights out. But Kwan's a pretty good guy. He's probably just as nervous about this date - er, group thing," he corrected with a wince when Sam glared at him. "My point is that Kwan is the type that will try his best not to offend you in anyway."

"I know. But," Sam bit her lip, "can we not discuss this anymore? I'm kind of already feeling sick thinking about it. Especially with Kwan's friends being there too."

"I'd offer to go as support, but I do have this function thing to go to."

"It's fine. I'm sure everything will go all right."

Danny reached over to lay a hand on her shoulder. "Sam, you're a wonderful, smart, beautiful woman. Kwan would be crazy not to like you."

Sam rolled her eyes, but a hint of a smile and a blush crossed her face. "Thanks, Danny."

Danny smiled back, and they fell into silence, letting the whole topic of dates and boyfriends drop. A few minutes later, they arrived at The Monarch, and Danny whistled at the sight of the building, all white stone and large glass windows. Even in his new suit of a simple black dress shirt, slacks, and a jacket with his dark blue tie, he felt rather underdressed.

"Well," he said, taking a deep breath, "I'm off. Have a good time 'hanging out' with Kwan." He grinned a little, and Sam punched him in the shoulder, but not as hard as she probably would have hit Tucker. After climbing out of the car, he waved to Sam before she drove off. Then he turned to face the building and tried to subtly wipe sweaty palms on his pants. He felt a bit stiff as he walked up to the front entrance.

A man stopped him at the door. He was about half an inch taller than Danny with a broad, muscular frame and thinning blond hair. Danny showed him his press ID badge, and after a minute of looking it over, the man allowed him to enter the building. Upon stepping inside, he felt even more like he was underdressed to be attending this function. He swallowed nervously, just knowing he would stick out like a sore thumb.

"Ah, Danny, my boy!" Mr. Carmichael spotted him and came over to slap his hand against Danny's shoulder. "Punctual. I like that! Now, your job is very simple. Just go around the room, taking pictures of the guests. I've got a few other photographers here tonight to capture as much of what's going on as possible. There will be speeches made later in the evening, so make sure you save some rolls of film for that. Other than that, just enjoy yourself tonight." He patted Danny on the shoulder. "Oh, there's Ms. Windom! Always a pleasure to talk to." He walked off to greet the woman in a long green dress. Her dark brown hair was pulled up with intricate curls.

Danny watched them for a moment before shaking himself out of the daze. He had a job to do, after all. He walked up the red carpeted stairs, following after the other people heading into the ballroom at the top of the staircase where the function was being held. As he kept to the sides of the room and out of other people's way, Danny first simply stared around at everything. People dressed up in fancy dresses and neat suits mingled with each other. The walls were a soft gold with marble pillars set into them. There were tables with food and drink for people to serve themselves throughout the evening. Waiters even walked around the room with platters of finger food and champagne glasses. A stage area was set up on the opposite wall of where the food and drink tables were located. On the other end of the long ballroom were large glass doors draped on the sides with dark red velvet curtains that opened out onto a balcony.

After a nervous fumble with his camera, Danny got to work and started taking pictures of the guests as they mingled. He wove around the room, snapping pictures of the people gathered there as they chatted with each other. He took a few shots of the room too, simply because he doubted that he would ever get the chance to attend a function at The Monarch again. Standing at the far end of the room, he adjusted his camera for a better shot.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

At the question, Danny jumped from surprise. During the time since his arrival, no one gave him much attention. He was simply a photographer and not someone worth talking to at this function. When he turned, he received another shock as he stared at the man standing beside him. Again, the man dressed in a sharp suit that looked tailored perfectly to his body. He sipped at the amber wine within his glass, dark blue eyes gleaming curiously. His silvery hair was tied neatly back in a ponytail.

"Uh, well, it's a nice place," Danny said, stumbling for how to respond to the man that he encountered only the other day when he first met Cujo. He hadn't expected to run into the man again. "I, um - Thanks again for the other day."

A smile graced the man's face. "There's no need to continue thanking me. But I must confess, I was rather surprised to see you here tonight."

"Oh, well," Danny mumbled, shrugging his shoulders as he lifted his camera. "Just taking pictures for _The Amity Park Herald_. Otherwise, I could never come to a place like this."

"You look awfully young to be working at a newspaper."

"I wanted to get a head start on a career," Danny explained. "You know, get my foot in the door. Use the local newspaper as a stepping stone to something bigger."

The man nodded. "It's refreshing to see someone so young taking the initiative in their futures. Ah, but where are my manners? I'm Vlad Masters." He held out his free hand.

"Danny Fenton." He shook the man's hand, glad to have a name to go with the man's face now.

"Fenton, hm?" A look passed through Vlad's eyes that Danny couldn't quite identify. "Well, it's been a pleasure meeting you, Daniel. But I'm afraid I'm being called." He glanced toward the stage where a young woman was standing before a microphone to make announcement. "Perhaps we'll meet again sometime." He raised his glass briefly with an odd smirk before he made his way toward the stage as the woman said his name.

Danny blinked as the man took the stage and greeted all the guests attending the function. "Oh man," he mumbled numbly to himself. Vlad was the one holding this whole event? _I must have looked like a total idiot to him_ , he thought with that sick feeling of embarrassment. After a shake of his head, he shoved that feeling down and moved closer to the stage to grab some shots of Vlad as he gave his speech. After all, he wasn't here to make a good impression on anyone. He was here to take photographs for the newspaper.


	20. Chapter 20

Vlad turned out to be a very eloquent speaker, and Danny was fairly certain that he had all the wealthy members of Amity Park that were attending the function eating out of the palm of his hand throughout his speech. He had, recently, acquired ownership of a company in Amity Park, making the move from Wisconsin to oversee his newest acquisition for the next several months. But the purpose of this little function he was hosting wasn't to talk about his business. He wanted to talk about a local orphanage that was greatly underfunded and in need of donations to keep running, and that was the reason he called out the wealthiest and big names of Amity Park to attend his function: he was seeking donations to help fund the orphanage.

Danny had to admit it sounded like a good plan. Axion Labs was, after all, a big name company in Amity Park, and having someone come in and buy the company probably had people there worrying about job cuts. Drawing people's attention to an orphanage and offering a large donation to it himself was a good way to make people see him as a good humanitarian that cared about the children. If lots of people lost their jobs after the company buy out though, that good public image he was currently building wouldn't last long.

The night was getting late, and the event was winding down to a close. Mr. Carmichael ran into him only moments ago to let him know that his job was done for the night and Danny was free to enjoy the rest of the evening as he liked. He also told Danny that he wanted the pictures on his desk tomorrow morning if possible then he walked off before he gave the young photographer the chance to speak. With a sigh, Danny guessed he would end up being late to class tomorrow morning. He wouldn't be able to get to the store to have the film developed and drop the pictures off at Mr. Carmichael's office and still have time to make it to his first class on time.

_Well, I guess my teachers are used to it by now_ , Danny thought as he stepped out of the ballroom and onto the balcony for some fresh air. A night of being stuck in the large room with all its grandeur left him feeling drained. He leaned on the rail and stared out at the garden that stretched out before him all the way to a tall stone wall. The garden had perfectly clipped hedges running about like a maze with a large fountain seated in the very center. Danny lifted his camera and adjusted his lens to take a picture of it. Smiling to himself, he would have to remind to send some of the pictures of the place to his sister to show her that he actually got invited to something at The Monarch.

"You're looking quite fancy tonight."

"Phantom!" Danny gasped as he twisted around to see the ghost touching down before him on the balcony. He quickly closed the distance between them and threw his arms around the ghost, hugging him tightly. "I was so scared when you showed up bleeding last night."

Phantom wrapped an arm around Danny's waist while the other held the young man's head. "I'm sorry," he murmured softly as they stood there holding each other. "I didn't mean to give you such a fright. But I'm okay now. Your mother did a good job patching me up, which allowed for a faster healing time after I got back into the Ghost Zone. And, by the way, I'm surprised that your parents are so knowledgeable about ghosts."

A laugh forced itself from him, and Danny pulled back enough to put some space between them. "Me too. I had no idea what sort of work they were doing in the basement. They signed a contract with the government to keep their work quiet so they couldn't even tell my sister and me about it." His mouth pulled downward with worry as he stared at the ghost. Not even a scar remained on his face to show that he had recently suffered terrible injuries. "What happened after I ran away? Who was that ghost? What was he after? Why did he attack you?"

Phantom held up his hands to stop Danny from rambling off any more of the questions that were circling around in his head. "I wasn't expecting him to be such a difficult opponent, but he was fairly well trained in fighting and using weapons and traps to attack. I've never come up against a ghost like him, and that caught me off guard." He sighed as he leaned against the rail of the balcony, and Danny joined him. "I'm not sure who he was, and he wasn't very forthcoming with what he wanted. There are plenty of ghosts that will shout out their names and their goals to the sky. He wasn't one of them." Phantom turned his gaze back to Danny and frowned. Worry was in his green eyes. "He may come back though, and I don't want you being put in harm's way. If anything happened to you-"

"I'm not fragile," Danny argued, his mouth pressing thin. "I may not be great at fighting, and I certainly don't know anything about fighting ghosts, but I can always ask my parents to let me carry one of their inventions to protect myself. Now that I actually know about their work, they'd probably be willing to give me one of those blasters or something. I don't want you getting hurt either."

Phantom stared at him. Then a small smile pulled at his mouth. "I fell for quite the brave human." He reached over, taking Danny's hand and lacing their fingers together. "I'm glad for it but also worried. Do not let that bravery lead you blindly into a situation you can't handle."

Danny saw the concern in Phantom's eyes. "Maybe some of the other ghosts will know something," he suggested, trying to think of something useful. "I guess not every ghost is going to know every other ghost, but maybe someone will have heard something that will at least tell you who that ghost was or even why he was after you." He bit his tongue before he mentioned that perhaps if they knew more about Phantom's past, then they would understand why this ghost attacked out of nowhere. Phantom wasn't interested in learning anything about his past, and Danny wanted to respect that.

"Perhaps," Phantom agreed, but Danny could hear a touch of doubt in his voice. "I'll speak to the ghosts I know later then. Maybe, as you say, they'll have some information that will be useful."

"We could look into it now." Danny glanced back to the doors of back into the room. "I'm done with my job for tonight, and my parents said they would be a bit more lax about my curfew since this is for work. And I did get my homework all finished ahead of time. As long as we aren't out until the sun comes up again, I don't think my parents will mind."

A wry smirk sneaked its way onto Phantom's face. "So long as they don't know that you're spending all that time with me, right?"

Danny blushed as he fiddled absently with his camera. "Well, yeah, probably." His blue eyes flicked back to Phantom. "But they do seem to be trying to accept our relationship. Obviously, they'd prefer that I hook up with someone that's still alive, but at the same time, they're pretty curious about this whole ghost slash human relationship we've got going on."

"Well, at least they don't seem like evil scientists." Phantom wore a joking grin. "But," he frowned as he tugged on Danny's hand, pulling the human closer to him, "I suppose this means I should come over for a real visit so that they can get to know me. You know, when I'm not bleeding out and all that."

"Don't make jokes about that." Danny snaked his arms around the ghost and hugged him close. "I was so worried, and I didn't know what to do to help you other than try to patch up your injuries."

"Sorry," Phantom mumbled, pressing a light kiss to Danny's forehead. "Say. Since you're done here, do you want to go?"

"Mm," Danny hummed, happy enough simply standing there in Phantom's arms. "Sure. Anywhere. I don't care."

Phantom chuckled then caught Danny under the knees as he lifted the photographer into his arms. "I think I have an idea then."

Danny gasped, his heart leaping into his throat as Phantom shot into the air. It wasn't his first time experiencing flight while being held by the ghost, but the sudden rush of air around them as they soar up toward the sky always left him with the sensation of his stomach plummeting a thousand feet downward as the earth fell away from them. He hung on tight, his arms squeezing around the ghost's neck, even though he knew Phantom would never drop him. Maybe there was a subconscious part of him that used the excuse to press closer to Phantom, which brought a flush to Danny's face.

"You should open your eyes," Phantom whispered, his voice and breath washing over Danny's ear.

His eyes cracked opened, squinting around before they snapped open wide. His gaze drifted all around and upward at the world that surrounded them. Phantom had flown them far higher than he had before, and clouds surrounded them, lazily rolling through the sky. A blanket of black laid out above them with thousands of twinkling stars that took Danny's breath away. After gawking around, and probably looking like an idiot in the process, for a while, Danny jerked his head back around to Phantom, who was simply staring at him with fondness in the green eyes.

"I - You - What?" Danny couldn't even think of what to say.

"Well," Phantom smiled, "you mentioned that you liked stargazing and photographing the night sky. I might not be able to take you all the way into space, but I can bring you a little closer to them."

His mouth pulled into a wide smile as Danny cupped his boyfriend's face in his hands. "You are too amazing." He leaned his head in and captured Phantom's mouth with his own, trying to get across just how much he appreciated this gesture in that one kiss. He could never imagine floating among the clouds with only the stars above him, and only Phantom could give him a moment like this one.

"I just wanted to do something special for you," Phantom murmured against Danny's lips, "after I gave you such a fright." He kissed Danny again, catching the human's lip between his teeth and nipping lightly at it. Danny ran his fingers through Phantom's hair as he leaned more into the kiss, their mouths working against each other. This was a moment that he was certain would remain forever in his mind. Phantom sighed when they broke apart, Danny needing a moment to breathe again. "I suppose we should come back down to earth now," he said with some regret in his voice.

"I guess I should be thankful you didn't say something lame, like 'your kisses send me to heaven' or 'when we kiss, I swear I could fly,'" Danny said with a chuckle. "That would have been pretty lame."

"Well, I did consider saying something like that." Phantom grinned as he slowly descended from the clouds.

They flew over Amity Park, and Danny gazed around at the world passing by below him. Something tickled at his mind, something about this whole recent incident with Phantom turning up bleeding at his house, and he turned his gaze back onto Phantom. He chewed on the thought for a moment before finally deciding to speak. "When I spoke to Ms. Spectra before, she implied that ghosts have always been around, but I had never seen one until recently. Why _are_ ghosts popping up here suddenly? I doubt Amity Park suddenly became some sort of hotbed for paranormal activity."

"Well," Phantom glanced his way with a small frown upon his face, "portals between this world and the Ghost Zone don't stay open for very long. Ghosts slip over here whenever a portal pops up, but the longer they spend here, the weaker they become. They lose energy simply existing here; whereas, in the Ghost Zone, the energy is constantly being cycled through them. That's why some ghosts appear much fainter in this world, when they aren't going around invisibly. It's because they've been here for too long and much of their energy has wasted away. It's not always their fault though. Sometimes, a ghost gets trapped over here because they haven't come across another portal."

"But you and Ms. Spectra don't seem to be losing energy all that much," Danny pointed out, trying to wrap his mind around this information and piece together what was bothering him. "And you had to go back into the Ghost Zone after my mom patched you up. But if these portals are so infrequent and uncertain, how could you pop back to the Ghost Zone and come back here so quickly?" His brow furrowed as he stared at Phantom. This was the point that he was struggling with when he brought up the topic.

"There's a portal," Phantom explained as he touched down on the doorstep of Danny's house and allowed the human to stand on his feet again. "You were in your parents' laboratory, right?" After seeing Danny nod, he continued, "Then you must have noticed the doors. The yellow and black striped ones, sort of looks like the 'do not cross' tape police use when taping off a crime scene. That's the door to the portal. It's not always opened, but it's far more stable than the natural portals. Ghosts just wait around when they need to come and go until your parents open it again then slip through. That's why ghosts are showing up here far more than in other cities. Because there's a stable portal here."

Danny nodded as he absorbed that all into his head. It did make quite a bit of sense now that he knew about the portal. "So what exactly is this Ghost Zone like?"

"Ahem!"

Danny jerked away from Phantom as he snapped his head around to see his father standing in the open doorway with his arms folded as he gave Phantom that fatherly intimidation glare that he used a few times when Jazz was dating. Danny gulped when he saw that expression.

"Good evening, Mr. Fenton," Phantom greeted, taking the glare in stride. "I was merely giving your son a lift home from that function he was attending this evening."

His father nodded slowly, though his expression didn't change. "I'll be keeping my eye on you, so don't try anything funny with my son."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Phantom said.

"Jack, dear, you don't have to scare the poor ghost," his mother said as she nudged her way past him so that she could be seen. "Though we do have the weaponry to deal with you if you _do_ hurt our son." She gave Phantom a glare that made the ghost actually sweat.

"You're being embarrassing," Danny groaned into his hands, feeling his face turning red.

"Sorry, sweetie." His mother wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "We're just concerned for you, is all."

"Well, Phantom," his father said, stepping aside to clear the doorway, "as parents, we have some questions for you."

"Dad, please!" Danny begged even as Phantom went ahead and entered the house. "Not the whole interrogation thing."

"But we did this with all of Jazz's boyfriends." His father blinked at him with some confusion.

"I promise nothing embarrassing will be asked." His mother steered him into the house. "Well, we'll try not to ask anything embarrassing, at least."

Danny sighed and hung his head as they walked into the front room. There was no escaping the embarrassing parent interrogation. The only positive he could see from this was that it would be out of the way after tonight.


	21. Chapter 21

Danny shifted awkwardly as he sat on the couch in the front room of the house. Beside him, Phantom sat with his back perfectly straight and one ankle resting on the other knee and his fingers laced over the ankle. His parents occupied the chairs on either side of the couch, his father in the one next to Phantom and his mother in the one next to him. Awkward silence hung over the four of them after they entered the house several minutes ago. To Danny, it actually felt like an hour, or maybe eight, had passed. His father had his arms crossed and his jaw set firmly as he gave the ghost his usual fatherly intimidating glare that he would use on any man hanging around Jazz. Danny resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands as the silence continued.

"Can we just get the Talk over with?" Danny begged, a blush creeping onto his cheeks when he heard the whine in his voice. This whole thing was already embarrassing enough without having it dragged out in silence.

His father squinted his eyes just a touch more at the ghost before he finally broke down to start the Talk. "What exactly are your intentions with our son?"

Danny gulped, his throat feeling like someone crammed an entire bag of cotton balls down it. His blue eyes darted toward Phantom as he absently wiped sweaty palms on his pant legs. Phantom hardly batted an eye at the question as if this whole conversation was something mundane, like chatting about the weather.

"At some point down the line," Phantom replied easily, "I would like to engage in sexual activity with your son."

Danny's face turned beet red in less than a second, the burning extending even to the tips of his ears after hearing how bluntly the ghost stated his desire. His father cracked, his mask of intimidation dropping as he sputtered out, unable to form words. His mother was equally shocked by the confession, but she recovered much quicker than her husband, smoothing out her jumpsuit despite the lack of wrinkles.

"Well, that's," she said, seeming at a loss for words, "nice."

"Your concern is natural, of course," Phantom continued, passing by that awkward moment with no indication that he even realized the reaction his statement caused. "A human and a ghost have never been in a relationship before. While it might be physically possible to engage in such activities, we still don't know what sort of," his green eyes glanced Danny's way, who shifted under the ghost's attention, "effects that may have on a human. I do admit caution is necessary in that case. But I also would never do anything of that nature to Danny without his consent. Intercourse is not in the near future for us, as we are still getting to know one another and develop our relationship as something more than a simple physical attraction."

His face still felt unnaturally hot, but Danny managed to force himself to speak. "So you see," he said with a pathetic laugh, "nothing to worry about."

His father shook his head, leaning back in his seat as he drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. He was thinking, turning over what question to ask first. "Why our son?"

Phantom blinked at the question. Then a slow smile slipped onto his face as he turned his gaze back onto Danny, whose heart practically skipped a beat at the fondness in the ghost's expression. "He wasn't like other humans. I saw him whenever I was trying to help out. He'd be there taking pictures. I heard a bit more about him from some other ghosts I know. When they showed up, he wasn't scared of them like other humans. He showed curiosity. He even helped them when he offered a location for a spot to haunt while in the real world. He defended ghosts who weren't doing any harm to humans. That caught my interest, and I wanted to learn more about him." He glanced to each parent. "You've raised a very kind and understanding son who has the bravery to protect people, even ghosts. Those are very admiral traits. You should be quite proud of your son."

"We are," his mother said with a sniff in her voice as if it was insulting that anyone might think that they weren't. Danny could kind of see why some people might think that when his parents were so obsessed with their secret work, which he only recently learned involved inventing weapons for the Guys in White. He did at times feel inferior to his sister when it came to intelligence because Jazz was always getting good grades with seemingly little effort, but he never really needed to hear his parents say they were proud of him. He wasn't desperately seeking their approval like that. Still, it made him feel a swell of pride to hear his mother respond that she was proud of him.

"Can we call this thing done?" Danny gave his parents a hopeful look. "I mean, what else do you really need to know? Phantom's a good guy. Er, ghost really. And while we do share a mutual physical attraction," and that was embarrassing to say out loud to his parents, "we're not going to be all teenage hormonal and start making out in corners at every chance we get. I think I've matured enough not to act like that and look for something more to a relationship than just physical pleasure."

His mother sighed then stood from her chair. "We know. We're just concerned. We know now that ghosts aren't all bad." Proof of that belief lay beside the chair where his father sat. Cujo had his head on his paws as his tail wagged every now and then behind him. He gave Phantom a big welcome, bouncing around and barking happily. But once they sat down in the front room to start the Talk, Cujo lay beside his father, somehow understanding that this wasn't the time for him to be seeking their attention. His mother sat down beside him on the couch and placed a hand upon his shoulder. "We just want you to be safe."

"And we're going to be," Danny assured his parents. "You really don't need to worry so much. Phantom isn't going to do anything to hurt me."

"While that may be," his father said, some of his intimidation relaxing from his features, "we still don't know very much about this Phantom character." He eyed the ghost with a certain amount of hesitation, not quite ready to give their relationship his blessing. "Where did you come from? What's your real name, the one you had when you were alive? How did you die? Why the whole hero persona?"

"Dad!" Danny shouted, his mouth thinning. "You can't just ask a ghost how he died. Did you ever stop to think that it might be a painful subject for the ghost and he doesn't want to talk about it?"

His father winced, shame flashing in his eyes as he lowered his gaze. "Sorry."

Phantom shook his head. "I wish I could answer all of your questions about me." His gaze fell as he frowned. "I don't really know who I was when I was alive or how I died. My memory only extends back about a year. As for the hero thing," he shrugged, "one theory is that it's my ghostly obsession." He tossed a small smirk toward Danny. "Maybe it had something to do with whom I was when I was alive or how I died or something. But I just started protecting people simply because it felt like the right thing to do. Other ghosts find humans entertaining. The Ghost Zone, don't get me wrong, is fine. Many ghosts are content living out their afterlives there. But for some, it can be a bit boring, which is why they seek ways into the real world and spook the living. Some are doing it just to be funny and don't mean any real harm. But there are those that are more malicious about it. We're the same as the living in that way. We have good and bad, but you can't generalize all ghosts just because there are a few bad ones."

"You don't have to convince us of that," his mother said. "Those Guys in White on the other hand." She frowned, and Danny could see the anger building in her violet eyes. She took a deep breath, and when she exhaled, the anger faded from her eyes and the tension left her body. Danny reached over and took hold of his mother's hand. She smiled at him, brushing her fingers through his raven locks.

 

"And that was pretty much it," Danny finished recounting what happened Sunday night to his friends, though he was careful to leave out anything about his parents working for the Guys in White as he went over the conversation. Remembering the awkwardness at some points during that conversation left his stomach churning unpleasantly, even if things went all right between his parents and Phantom.

"I'm so glad I don't have to sit through the whole Talk with my parents," Tucker said, struggling to hold back a snicker. From the way he bit at his lip, it was clear that he wanted to laugh at his friend's plight.

"Well, first you would need to actually be dating someone," Sam pointed out, which quickly snapped Tucker out of his amusement.

"Hey!" Tucker complained with a wounded look.

"She does have a point there." Danny chuckled as Tucker's expression turned to one hurt by betrayal. He shrugged as he leaned on the cafeteria table. "Maybe you should ask Star out." He nodded toward the table where the A list women sat. Star flanked Paulina's right side as they and Valerie chatted during the lunch hour. "Didn't you have a crush on her at one point."

Tucker flushed, fumbling with his drink that he almost knocked over. "That was, like, freshmen year!"

But Tucker didn't deny it, and the corner of Danny's mouth pulled upward as he watched his friend's flustered attempts to drink his soda without spilling it. Tucker did have that flaw of flirting with most of the women at their school, but Danny had no doubts that if Tucker ever got into a real relationship that he would be as loyal to his girlfriend as he showed he was to his friends.

"Speaking of crushes though," Tucker turned his gaze to Sam sitting across from them at the lunch table, "how did things go with lover boy?" He grinned widely until a foot struck his shin and he winced.

"It went fine," Sam said, keeping a cool composer despite a slight narrowing of her eyes as she picked at the remains of her salad. "His friends were there, and that made things a bit awkward. I really don't know how to deal with the A list without provoking them into some kind of fight."

Danny cringed. "You didn't get into a fight with any of them, did you?" He cast a glance toward the A list, but he didn't see any signs on Paulina, Star, and Valerie that they got into anything physical with Sam.

Sam shook her head, and a small blush crept onto her cheeks. "They tagged along with us for a little while. Then they made really lame excuses for why they weren't going to join us." She rolled her eyes. "Like Paulina and Star decided they wanted to see that new Sayonara Pussycat movie. And Dash and some of the other football guys wanted to see that movie that's basically all explosions and car chases and sex." She leaned closer to them and added in a quiet whisper, "Though Dash didn't look all that interested in that kind of movie." She sat back again with a shrug. "Kwan clearly had no idea that they all planned to eventually ditch us so that we could have some 'alone time.' Then things got a bit awkward when we were sitting alone in the theater."

"So it was a date!" Tucker teased and managed to dodge another kick.

"Fine," Sam said with an overly exaggerated exhale. "It was a date. Happy?" She scowled at Tucker's grin.

"He did the arm reach thing, didn't he?"

"Actually, he didn't." Sam smirked as Tucker gawked at him. "Maybe it was just that he was really nervous because he didn't plan on this being an actual date, but," she shrugged, "he kept his hands to himself the whole time."

"Was it awkward the whole time?" Danny asked curiously as he dipped his fries into some ketchup.

"Well, during the movie, we both kind of forgot about being nervous because we were focused on what was going on in the movie. After the movie, things went better. We talked about the movie and stuff. Then he took me to this little vegan restaurant down the street. It was really nice."

"I'm glad the not a date date went well." Danny smiled warmly at his friend. "Are you going to see him again?"

"We may have talked about going out again next weekend," Sam answered, shrugging as she glanced away with her blush returning.

"I'm really happy for you." Tucker blinked when Sam gave him a doubtful glance. "What? I mean it! I might tease you a lot and make jokes, but I really am truly happy that you're in a good relationship with someone."

"Thanks." Sam dropped her plastic fork into the salad, giving up on what little remained. "Sorry for kicking you."

"My shins appreciate the apology." A beat of silence passed then the three friends all laughed.

When the bell rang, they groaned shouldering their bags as they stood. They gathered up their trash from lunch and shuffled off to the exit of the cafeteria to throw the trash into one of the garbage cans by the door. Afterward, they stepped out into the main hall of the high school, following the flow of the other students heading off to their afternoon classes.

"Are we still hanging out at the Nasty Burger tonight?" Danny asked as they strolled down the hall before they had to part ways for class.

"Of course," Tucker answered enthusiastically. "Unless the two of you are about to say that you have plans with your boyfriends." He frowned. Even if he was happy for his friends, it had to be lonely being the only one of the three of them that wasn't dating someone.

Sam rolled her eyes. "We're not going to abandon you and get all swept up in our relationships." She nudged Tucker in the ribs with a teasing smile. "See you guys later." Sam waved as she broke away from them and headed to class.

Danny reached over and patted Tucker on the back. "I think you should try asking Star out again. This time though," he added quickly before Tucker could say anything, "don't feed her some line. You don't need to use something stupid like, 'did it hurt when you fell from heaven? Because you must be an angel' or some other really awful line."

"Yeah, yeah. Mr. Smooth gets a boyfriend, and suddenly he's a dating guru." Tucker chuckled as Danny gave a shove.

"I was only trying to help. But if you don't want it," Danny said with a shrug as he turned into his classroom with Tucker following after him.


	22. Chapter 22

"It wasn't that funny!" Tucker complained, his face darkening as the trio of friends left the Nasty Burger together. He hunched up his shoulders and shoved his hands into his pockets as he glared at his two friends.

"Sorry." Danny coughed, trying to recover from his laughter, but it was difficult. "You're right. It wasn't funny."

Tucker's green eyes narrowed a fraction more. "That was totally not believable, dude."

Danny cast a glance to Sam, and the two of them both burst into laughter again. They had planned to hang out after school at the Nasty Burger, grabbing some food to snack on while they worked on homework together. As the Nasty Burger was a popular hangout spot, they weren't the only students from Casper High there that afternoon. The A list members of their high school were there, sitting at their usual booth.

After some encouraging, which actually took most of their time hanging out there, Danny and Sam managed to convince Tucker to go over to the A list booth and talk to Star. A hush fell over the Nasty Burger as everyone watched Tucker approach the A list booth. It was a well known fact that the students labeled as "losers" at their school were never to approach the A list booth. Never. So everyone wanted to see what would happen, probably most of them expecting the jocks to beat up on Tucker for even daring to pass near their booth.

From their vantage point, it looked like things were going fairly smoothly. Tucker stood at the end of the booth, near where Star sat. Unfortunately, they had no idea what Tucker was actually saying to her, but she hadn't rolled her eyes at him yet, so that seemed like a good sign in Danny's mind. The jocks were leaving him alone too. Danny wasn't sure if that was Kwan influencing Dash to behave because of his developing relationship with Sam or Dash wanting to show good behavior so that Jazz would like him. He thought maybe it was a bit of both.

Tucker started to return to their table, and that was when things went south for him. He didn't turn around, instead stepping back as he gave what appeared to be a flustered goodbye, and stepped right into a passing man. The two of them crashed to the ground as food and soda splashed everywhere, sending the Nasty Burger into a ruckus of laughter over the whole event. Even now after they had left the fast food joint, Tucker still sported some ketchup and mustard stains all over his clothing.

"Did you at least get a date with her?" Sam asked when she and Danny managed to quiet their laughter.

Tucker blushed darker as he rubbed the back of his neck. His gaze refused to glance anywhere toward his friends. "She said yes, but you know, after that, she might change her mind."

"But she said yes." Danny slapped a hand to his friend's back. "That's great!"

"If you're worried that little embarrassing moment might make her change her mind, I can talk to Kwan," Sam offered as they headed for her car. "I'm sure he would talk to Star and convince her that she shouldn't let that one incident discourage her from going on a date with you."

Tucker smiled somewhat. "Thanks."

Danny felt a buzzing at his hip and sighed as he dug his hand into his pocket. He frowned as he read the message on the screen. "Looks like I have work." Mr. Carmichael sent him an urgent text, telling him to get to the warehouses on the north end of town immediately.

"Do you need a ride?" Sam asked as she unlocked the door of her car.

Danny shook his head, sticking his phone back into his pocket. "No, you two head home. I'll see you two tomorrow." He turned after saying their goodbyes and started walking off toward the north side of town. Maybe he could convince his parents that all his hard work with school and at the newspaper earned him a little reward in the form of some sort of transportation. He shook his head as he picked up his pace. He still owed his mother for lending him the money to buy a new suit to attend the fund raising event at The Monarch last night. But it couldn't hurt to look into options for a car or something else. A motorcycle always sounded cool to him.

His parents were good at inventing things. He had seen the evidence of that during his trip into their secret laboratory. Maybe he should try another tactic. Instead of trying to buy something to make getting around town easier, he should see if his parents would help him build something. If they can create a portal that opened a doorway into another dimension, building a car or a motorcycle shouldn't be too difficult for them. It would be a good bonding experience too. Something that he could do with his parents. Nodding his head, he decided he would definitely ask his parents about that when he got home.

Arriving at the north end of town, Danny shivered at the cold that crept into him. He got out his camera immediately as he walked through the rows of warehouses. A scream echoed, bouncing off the walls, and Danny darted around the corner of one of the warehouses. It hit him then. The abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. The one that he told Johnny and Kitty about when he first encountered them. Danny sprinted faster toward the source of the scream. Then he skidded to a stop three warehouses later, his chest squeezing with panic at the sight that met his gaze.

Kitty sat on the ground, holding a hand to her side as bright green oozed between her fingers. The injury looked pretty bad, and Johnny knelt beside her with panic on his face. From the worry in his eyes, it was obvious how much he cared for and loved Kitty. But now wasn't the time to focus on how much they loved each other. Kitty was badly injured and needed help. Danny slung the camera around his neck and rushed over to them.

"What happened?" Danny questioned as he dropped to his knees before them.

Kitty winced as she shifted, more of her ectoplasm blood seeping between her fingers. "We weren't even doing anything," she complained, pain shining in her eyes. "They just showed up out of nowhere and attacked us."

Danny gulped. He didn't her to say who it was. He already knew it had to be the Guys in White. His jaw clenched painfully as a rage burned in his chest. How could they justify attacking ghosts that weren't even harming anyone? Forcing back his anger, he glanced toward Johnny.

"You should get her out of here," Danny told him and cast his gaze about for any sign of the Guys in White. "You know about the portal," he asked quietly, "right?"

"Yeah," Johnny answered, sounding rather shaken. "Soon as they showed up, we got on my bike to head back there until things quieted down. But then," he frowned at Kitty, "they started shooting. My bike got trashed. We managed to run, but Kitty got hurt." He turned his gaze onto Danny. "This isn't looking too good. She's losing a lot of ectoplasm."

Danny frowned, hearing footsteps coming closer to them. "Okay," he said, his eyes set in firm determination. This idea was either insanely stupid or completely genius. He was leaning toward the former, but it was the only thing he could think of at the time. "Give me your jacket." He held out his hand to Johnny.

"What? Why?" Johnny stared with confusion in his green eyes, as if Danny just asked him to hand over a kidney or something.

Danny held back an exasperated sigh. "Because I'm going to distract them. I'll wear your jacket and run away making a lot of noise to draw their attention. They're probably too stupid to even remember what you look like. While they're chasing after me, the two of you get out of here. Quietly. Get back to the portal."

Amazement filled Johnny's gaze. Then he hurriedly shrugged out of his coat and handed it off to Danny. "I can't believe a human would do something like this for us," Johnny said awestruck as Danny yanked the coat on. It was big and hung loosely on him despite his height. "I-" He shook his head. "I really owe you for this. I don't think we could ever repay you."

"Surviving will be enough repayment." Danny stood and looked around the area. The Guys in White hadn't arrived yet, but from the sounds of their footsteps, they were getting close. Too close. He took deep breath, preparing himself for what was to come next. He was a great fool. But with Kitty injured, Johnny was too distracted taking care of her to think about how to escape from the Guys in White.

He set off at a jog, passing by the gap between two warehouses. When he glanced back over his shoulder, he didn't see Johnny or Kitty sitting there anymore. Only a shadow remained, stretching oddly around the place where they had last been. As he reached the end of the second warehouse, Danny slammed a fist against the metal siding. It made a pathetic sound, hardly enough to draw attention to him. He kept moving, turning the corner at the next intersection.

"Whoa!" Danny skidded in his attempt to stop as he spotted an agent dressed in the usual white suit blocking his way.

"Target Alpha Tango Two acquired," he said with a hand held up to his right ear.

Danny couldn't say for sure if the man was or wasn't one of the agents that he met previously. The agent was about the same height that he was, and his head was shaved like the prior agents that crossed Danny's path. He had a small cut over his left eye that was slowly bleeding. Danny almost smirked, realizing that Johnny or Kitty must have landed a hit on the man when they were trying to get away, but the whir of the agent's gun kept him grounded from distracting thoughts. He threw his back flush against the warehouse as a blast of green fired past him. His heart hammered in his chest as he stared at the hole gouged out of the ground on impact. This idea was definitely not a smart one.

Pushing away from the wall, Danny started running again. He managed to pass around the turn in time to miss the second shot fired from the gun. His chest ached in memory of being struck before, even though his injury was long since healed. He really didn't want to experience that again, but here he was putting himself in the line of fire to protect ghosts again. Maybe he would end up with a ghostly obsession like Phantom if he died and became a ghost, and he would use his powers to protect everyone. He almost laughed at the idea. He and Phantom could be like some crime fighting duo.

A hard smack to the side of his head brought him painful back to reality. Danny hit the ground, dazed as the world fuzzed before his eyes. He really shouldn't entertain random thoughts when he was in the middle of a serious situation. His vision came back to the sight of a barrel hovering right between his eyes. He twisted away in time to dodge the blast fired from the gun that left another hole in the ground. His heart pounded in his chest at how close that shot came to drilling a hole in his head. He swept his leg around, knocking the agent off his feet. The agent hit the ground, losing his grip on the gun. Danny scrambled to his feet and quickly kicked the gun away from the man before he could recover. It clattered as it bounced over the ground, and he realized a moment afterward that he probably shouldn't have kicked a gun with the safety still off. Luckily, it didn't fire any random shots before it came to a stop several feet away.

The hard thumps of booted feet racing toward him alerted him to another agent approaching him. Danny spun around as the man came closer. The agent raised the gun, balancing it against his shoulder as he took aim. Danny grabbed hold of the gun's barrel, and with a hard twist, he managed to yank the gun free of the agent's hands. Then he thrust the butt of the gun into the man's face. The agent stumbled back, blood gushing from his nose.

"You stupid little punk!" the agent growled as he glared over the top of his broken sunglasses.

Still holding the gun, Danny swung it around to hit the man again. But his swing stopped in mid motion as something grabbed hold of the gun. It was yanked from his grasp, the hard edges scrapping at his palms. He turned to the other agent, drawing back a fist to punch him when the bloodied nose agent seized his arm and twisted it back. His other hand grabbed at Danny's raven hair, fingernails scratching over the teenager's scalp. Then he slammed Danny into the wall of the warehouse, bashing his head hard against the metal siding so that white spots blossomed in Danny's eyes.

"Where's the other one?" demanded the agent with the gun. The one that Danny bashed the nose of held him so that his head faced the gun toting agent, who had the barrel once again pointed between his eyes.

Danny snorted as he tried, unsuccessfully to push away from the wall. "You two are real grade A idiots." He stomped his foot down as hard as he could on the bloodied nose agent's foot. The moment the agent released his hold on him with a strangled yelp, Danny threw back his arm, his elbow dealing a blow right to his injured nose. The agent held his hands to his face, groaning and cursing.

"Damn, ecto freak," muttered the other agent, the sound of his gun clicking and whirring.

Danny needed no other warning. He ducked as the first shot exploded from the barrel, crashing into the metal siding of the warehouse. His legs pumped hard as he bolted away from the agents. He weaved to avoid the shots fired at him. The heat of the blasts passing dangerously close. He hugged around the corner as a green burst hit his foot. Stumbling, scraping his knee on the ground, he scrambled to regain his balance and keep moving. He managed to right himself, wincing whenever he put his weight on his left foot. It burned like a fire, tingling up his leg, and he was fairly certain that his shoe was completely ruined as the sole slapped against the ground with each step.

It was like watching a movie happening in slow motion. A third agent suddenly appeared in front of him, and Danny tried to come to a stop before he slammed into the agent. He saw the glow of green filling the barrel of the gun. It was going to hit him. He knew it without even thinking it. His body simply wouldn't react fast enough to dodge it at this close range. It was like those dreams where he knew everything that was happening, but his body was completely frozen. He tried. He urged his body to move, but it wasn't enough. The blast tore at his side, and he rammed his shoulder into the nearby warehouse. Then he dropped to the ground. Something was lodged in his throat, making it difficult to breathe. He dared to look at the damage and gasped at the sight of his torn and bloodied shirt. The flesh beneath what remained was worse. It looked black in some places, red and raw in other spots, far worse than the bruises he earned the last time he was on the receiving end of a Guys in White attack.

"Oh god," the agent mumbled as he stood over Danny. "They said you were a ghost. But - Oh god!" His expression looked sickened, like he might vomit at any moment. His gun clattered as it hit the ground, and he covered his mouth with one hand. "Oh god!" he repeated several times, his voice muffled by his hand. His panicked mantra followed Danny, becoming his own thoughts as the darkness swam before his vision. _Oh god!_ The pain flared, finally registering to him as a scream tore from his throat.


	23. Chapter 23

Screaming was the first thing to register in his mind after the darkness began to lift. His eyes snapped around, expecting to find himself surrounded by agents of the Guys in White with their guns all pointed at him. What he found, instead, was a lavish room, richly decorated, and he lay in a four poster bed with heavy velvet draping tied back at the posts. He managed to quiet himself, cutting of a scream, though his heart still pumped swiftly within his chest, unable to calm himself after the frightening thought of being at the mercy of the Guys in White after being shot at by them again.

Danny sat up with a wince, his side screaming at the movement. He clamped his eyes shut as they stung with the pain, and he pushed himself back against the headboard of the bed. When he opened his eyes, breathing out slowly to clear his head, he turned his gaze onto his right side. He stared, as if unseeing for a moment, then gingerly touched a hand to the bandages wrapped around his body. A wrinkle appeared upon his brow as his fingers brushed over the rough material, and he wondered what happened after he was shot in the side. His blue eyes darted around the room, which was clearly not a hospital room. The Guys in White would never put some nuisance in such a grand room to recover. He could actually believe that the frame surrounding the large mirror over a vanity table across from him was made of solid gold.

Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, Danny moved carefully because of his side. He set his feet down upon the floor and hissed at the pain that shot up his left leg. He lifted that leg and found more bandaging around his ankle, but he remembered being shot in the foot before his run in with that third agent. What gave him pause was the silky black pajama pants he wore. They were basically the only thing he wore, which made his stomach turn at the thought of random strangers viewing him naked as they tended to his injuries then dressed him up again.

The door creaked as it opened, and Danny jerked back on the bed, drawing the thick covers over himself. He gave the room another quick glance, but he couldn't find anything decent to use as a weapon. If, and he was still considering that to be a big if, the Guys in White were the ones keeping him here, then he definitely wanted something with which to fight his way out of this place. He learned quite a lot from his mother, but he was injured and the Guys in White agents would likely be carrying weapons, which their last run in proved that he couldn't go up against more than one of them at a time.

"Is everything all right?" The man that entered the room with a slight frown upon his face was the last person that Danny actually expected to see come through the door. "I heard your scream, and I would have been here right away, but I was getting you some fresh clothes. Unfortunately, your old clothes were, well, quite ruined beyond saving."

Danny dropped his gaze from the man's dark blue eyes to the neatly folded clothes he carried. "I don't understand," he said with his brow knitting as he lifted his gaze again. "What are you doing here, Mr. Masters? Or what am I doing here?"

"That will need some explaining." Mr. Masters frowned more as he crossed the room to set the clothes on the bed. "Which I am more than willing to do, but first you should get dressed. Then perhaps some food. When you exit this room, just head down the right hall and you'll find the living room. I should have something ready by the time you come out."

Danny's gaze followed the silver haired man as he strode back to the door and left the room without another word. For a moment, he sat there. Then he dropped his head into his hands, finding bandages tied around his head too. What was going on? How did he ended up in the care of Mr. Masters? His head hurt trying to think about it too hard. He would find no answers on his own, and his best option was to speak with Mr. Masters and hope that he fulfilled his promise of explaining everything to him. Hurriedly, he changed out of the pajama pants and into the clothes that Mr. Masters brought for him to wear. They were oddly well fitting though not his usual style of clothing. They were nice dress clothes with dark slacks and a navy blue button up top. Once he was dressed, he walked, or limped actually, out of the room then followed Mr. Masters' instructions down the hall to the right.

The hall opened out into a large room that was decorated to give that same feeling of grandeur as the bedroom in which he woke up. Danny moved around the room, his gaze sweeping over everything from antique couches that looked like they may have come from some royal estate that existed in the early eighteen hundreds to the chandelier with crystal droplets dangling from it. Then he paused as he stood before the large windows with the drapes drawn open and looked out over a garden. A garden that was very familiar to him.

"Why are we at The Monarch?" Danny mumbled as his brow furrowed in his growing confusion.

"The owner likes to rent out the rooms to wealthy visitors," Mr. Masters explained as he entered the room with a tray of food and a teapot. "When I flew into town, he was more than happy to invite me to stay here while I'm checking in on my new acquisition."

Danny hesitated then walked over to the table where the man was already sitting and pouring himself a cup of hot tea. Despite all his uncertainty about this whole situation, he couldn't deny the hunger clawing at his sides now that he could smell the aroma of food. He took a seat at the table, his eyes roving over his choices from bagels with various spreads such as cream cheese and a variety of jams and jellies to plain toast. A platter of fluffy looking scrambled eggs sat to one side and on the other was a large serving of oatmeal with a small dish of brown sugar set beside it. He had his choices of drinks from milk to water to orange juice. Danny grabbed at things here and there, adding them to the plate before him.

"You know," Danny said after shoveling a few bites into his mouth and swallowing, "the town will turn on you if you start cutting jobs at Axion Labs." He glared across the table as the man casually sipped his tea while glancing over the newspaper in his hand.

Mr. Masters paused, turning his gaze onto Danny. "Are you a journalist as well? I thought you were just a photographer."

"Just-" Danny's mouth pressed thin as his hand tightened around the fork that he held. " _Just_ a photographer?" he shouted, anger flickering in his eyes. "Do you even understand how difficult it is to capture clean shots while everything around you is moving at a fast pace? You don't have an infinite amount of time to adjust things to be absolutely perfect. Maybe one out of twenty pictures I take actually gets accepted. And there are plenty of other photographers out there trying to get their pictures bought by newspapers and magazines too."

"My apologies." Mr. Masters set his teacup down in its saucer. "Though if you did consider a career as a journalist, I suggest that you get your facts straight before you start accusing people."

"They don't always check their facts," Danny muttered bitterly, thinking about the way Mr. Carmichael had the newspaper painting Phantom up to be some sort of hero worship seeking villain.

Mr. Masters lifted his eyebrows, a look that Danny couldn't quite grasp passing through his eyes. "As for Axion Labs, I have no plans to cut jobs unnecessarily. And before anyone starts complaining, they should know that Axion Labs wouldn't exist by the end of the year. I bought out the company because it aligned with some of my interests. Some of the employees, however, needed to be immediately cut for criminal activities such as embezzlement and fraud, and I've already done so. I don't need them in my employ and I don't want the media attention that would come should their illegal activities be brought to light. For other employees, that completely depends on a few things."

"What things?" Danny's expression remained scrunched up in confusion as he continued to eat what was on his plate.

"The employees that I have flagged for possible dismissal are, well," Mr. Masters thought for a moment and waved his hand in a circular fashion, giving off a certain air of superiority in Danny's opinion, "lazy. They have not produced the same amount of results as other employees, and if they can't be serious about their work, than they aren't worth my time and money to keep on."

"But those people have families," Danny argued, pointing a butter knife smeared with cream cheese and raspberry jam at the man. "If they lose their jobs, how are they going to support their families? For some, they might be the only source of income for that household."

"I'm not a cold hearted man, despite what some might say. I'm prepared to give a handsome final paycheck that should be enough, should they spend it wisely, to last for a month. I've already informed these individuals that they are looking at the possibility of being fired. They have a month to improve their work, and if they haven't by the end of that time, then they have proven to me that this job means nothing to them. Those that do put in the work will ensure their continued employment. Now, in some cases, those positions that are now empty might be dropped completely if there is no reason to keep them. But I'm hoping to keep as many of them available as possible. This will open the way for other people seeking employment to have the chance at the jobs. Hopefully, people who will be much more dedicated and hard working than their predecessors."

Danny opened his mouth but found he didn't have much of an argument against what the man said. If he was trying to keep as many people employed as possible, then he couldn't be that bad of a person after all. He frowned, pushing around some of the eggs remaining on his plate. "Um, so..." His gaze darted around before landing back on the man. "What am I doing here?"

Mr. Masters sighed, concern entering his blue eyes. "I must apologize. Things got out of hand. I didn't expect them to go like that."

"What... do you mean?" Danny eyed the man, dread trickling through him and settling into his stomach.

Mr. Masters met Danny's gaze. "I was the one that contacted you last night and told you to go to the warehouses on the north end of town."

"What?" Deep lines set into Danny's brow as his mind scrambled to understand what was being said. "But that text came from Mr. Carmichael." He blinked. Now that he thought about it, it was strange that Mr. Carmichael would text him about a story. The man usually called him up, not caring if he was interrupting one of Danny's classes.

"I may know a few things when it comes to hacking," Mr. Masters admitted without shame. "I thought you would be more likely to respond to a text from your boss at the newspaper than to some stranger you've only met twice."

"But why?"

"I, unfortunately, have to speak with the Guys in White from time to time." Mr. Masters' mouth pursed and his nostrils flared in a manner that reminded Danny of his mother when she showed her anger toward the organization. "I happened to overhear some of their agents talking about hunting down a pair of ghosts that were seen haunting one of the warehouses. From the sounds of it, it didn't seem like the ghosts were up to anything bad. I thought you might be able to get down there and keep the ghosts from being harmed by the Guys in White. I would have gotten there sooner, but I couldn't get out of a meeting."

Danny frowned, his hand touching his side where he was struck. "I still don't understand though." He shook his head. "Why did you think that I could help them?"

"Well, there was that little show before about protecting the ghost puppy," Mr. Masters reminded with a small twitch of his mouth. "You seemed to have a very noble heart for protecting those that are being attacked without just cause." He glanced Danny over then sighed as he straightened and moved his tea aside before he leaned upon the table. "There is also a matter that I wish to discuss with you. And for that, there is something that I should probably show you. It may also help explain why you woke up in my care rather than at the mercy of the Guys in White."

Danny did indeed wonder about that, but he got distracted from that thought while they discussed other things. As he tried to sort it all out in his head, a dark flash caught his eye. He snapped his gaze back to Mr. Masters but then jumped out of his chair when he saw a blue skinned ghost sitting where the man was only a second ago. The red eyes followed him, and Danny gulped nervously under the ghost's gaze.

"I suppose I should have expected a reaction like that," the ghost said, sounding exactly like Mr. Masters. "Well, it could have been worse, I suppose. You at least didn't scream bloody murder and run away."

Danny rubbed at his head, feeling a headache blossoming as it pounded at his temples. "I don't understand. What-" His eyes bugged from their sockets as he stared at the ghost. "What _are_ you?"

"Oh, I'm very much what I appear to be." A wry smirk crept over the blue skinned face. "But as you may have noticed with other ghosts, some of us have developed the ability to appear human. This is what I naturally look like when I'm not masquerading as wealthy billionaire Vlad Masters."

Danny sank back down in his chair. His mind felt like a blank. "I really don't-" He shook his head. "If you're a ghost, why bother with this whole business thing? You don't really need the money."

"You're right. I don't," Mr. Masters agreed. "Back when I was in college, I wrote a thesis paper. I used to research ghosts and the paranormal with your parents back then." He grinned at the shock on Danny's face, his lips parting just enough for the young man to spot a pair of fangs. "We were quite good friends. Anyway, I wrote my paper on the idea that ghosts acted according to an obsession."

"That was you?" Danny gaped at the man. "Tucker found a paper about that, but he couldn't remember the name of the person who wrote it. And when he went searching for it again, he couldn't find it."

"Well, that paper wasn't supposed to be seen. I guess your friend managed some incredible hacking to uncover it. But the Guys in White don't exactly appreciate nosy little teenagers poking into their business." Mr. Masters scowled at the mention of the organization. "But my point was that if I died and became a ghost, I would likely exist with an obsession as my thesis theorized. I believed at one point that seeking wealth, or maybe fame, was that obsession. At least, when I started."

"What do you mean when you started? Did your obsession change? Is that even possible?"

"I think it is. You see, ghosts display strong emotions. A love for something can become an obsession. Anger, joy, sorrow, loneliness. Anything really. But I don't think a ghost is stagnant. Many exist following their obsessions without change, but I think under the right circumstances, the right series of events, those obsessions can morph into new ones. This idea may also relate to the idea of 'crossing over.' If a ghost were to resolve his or her obsession without developing a new one, they may lose their substance; therefore, dissolving into nothing or 'crossing over.'

"When I first died, it was the result of an accident on a project I worked on with your parents. Luckily, I was able to cover it up so that people still believed I was alive. From there, I started down the path of building up a company into a multibillion dollar corporation. But I was still interested in researching ghosts, which I continue to do in my spare time. And well, when you happen to _be_ a ghost, that makes experiments a lot easier. It wasn't satisfying though." Mr. Masters sighed, leaning back in his chair with a drained expression on his face. "I learned of your sister's birth from your parents, and I realized what that emptiness was. I was lonely. I had an empire in a matter of years, but I had no one to spend it with. I continued with my research, and two years later, I was delighted with the results. You've met him."

Danny's brow knitted at that as Mr. Masters smirked. "Wait." Something was starting to fit into place as he looked over the ghost. He wore a black suit accented with a red cravat that seemed to fit into a vampire theme with the fangs. His now black hair was still drawn back into a neat ponytail like when he appeared as a human. "Phantom?" He gawked, mouth hanging open, as the ghost's mouth stretched a bit wider.


	24. Chapter 24

Danny stared at the ghost sitting across from him at the table. Mr. Masters calmly lifted his teacup from its saucer and sipped from it, acting as if everything was completely normal. Danny managed to snap his mouth shut, realizing belatedly that it was hanging open. He swallowed and unconsciously fussed with his napkin and silverware, the remaining bite of his bagel, anything that was placed before him out of nervousness.

"Um, so," Danny said, and Mr. Masters lifted his eyebrows, waiting patiently for the young man to figure out his thoughts, "what exactly does that mean? Phantom was your result? Result of what exactly?"

"After I heard about your sister's birth, it gave me pause," Mr. Masters explained, setting down his teacup. He leaned back in his chair, appearing casual as his red eyes gazed at Danny with a piercing look that made the teenager sit up a bit straighter. "I started to reevaluate everything I knew since the time of my accident. As I said, in the beginning, I believed that my obsession was in gaining wealth and fame. But when I thought harder about it all, when I dug deeper into my motives, I realized that was a gross oversight." He frowned, and Danny's brow furrowed as he shifted uncomfortably under the ghost's gaze. "I should probably explain something first. You see, back in college I may have been a little in love with Maddie."

Danny was glad he wasn't eating or drinking anything at that moment or he might have choked at that confession. "W-What?"

Mr. Masters waved it off. "The day of the accident, I had actually planned on asking her out, but then," he gestured to himself, "this happened. Anyway, my point in telling you this is because I realized that everything I was doing since the accident was driven for one single purpose: to make Maddie fall in love with me. Death had turned what I thought to be love into an obsession. You can imagine how devastating it was to realize that everything I worked toward was for nothing. I was alone and the woman I thought to love was married and having a family of her own. It took some time to recover from that shock. But it also spurred me toward a new goal: filling the loneliness. My company had a division that dabbled in the idea of cloning, so I had access to that research to use for my own experiments."

Danny shook his head as he raised his hands up to stop the ghost. "Are you saying that Phantom is your clone?"

"I wasn't finished," Mr. Masters answered with a deep set frown. "I started working on the cloning process, testing to see how it reacted to my ectoplasm, if it was even possible to clone a ghost. But in the middle of that research, I realized that a clone wasn't going to satisfy my loneliness. I didn't want just some copy of myself. What I wanted, what I so desperately sought after, was a family. I wanted someone who would love me. It didn't have to be a romantic love. It just had to be someone who would care for me as I cared for her or him. So I started tampering with the cloning idea, and my end result was Phantom. He had my ectoplasm DNA, but he wasn't my exact copy."

Danny turned his gaze away, his heart feeling like a lump lodged into his throat as a thought occurred to him. After Sunday night with his parents, he thought he was finished with the whole awkward Talk, but when he stared at the ghost before him, he realized he might have to go through it again with Phantom's "father." Then a frown drew across his face. "How do I know what you're saying is true? I can't ask Phantom about any of this because he doesn't remember anything from over a year ago."

Mr. Masters sighed, pain reflecting in his eyes. "I was afraid that was the case. You see," his hands clenched tightly, "the Guys in White attacked around that time. Phantom was returning home, and he was badly hurt by them. I managed to get there in time to rescue him and bring him home, but the damage was done. It turns out that my calculations for creating Phantom weren't," he winced, "quite as stable as I would hope. Whatever the Guys in White struck him with caused a minor destabilization in Phantom. I had to work quickly to get him stable again. But when he woke up, he was disoriented and confused. He shot me and fled. I've been trying to track him down ever since, but once he entered the Ghost Zone, it became a lot more difficult to pin down his location."

"Until he turned up in Amity Park and started being big news," Danny said, understanding how Mr. Masters was able to figure out that Phantom was hanging out around town. "But this could all still be some lie you've planned out to get me to believe you. How can I trust you? How do I know you don't want to hurt Phantom for some reason?"

Mr. Masters bowed his head slightly. "You don't always take things as they are presented before you. That is probably a wise thing. You're quick to defend ghosts that have shown no evil intentions, but you must always be careful that they aren't deceiving you." He stood and walked out of the room.

Danny stared at the door through which the ghost disappeared. Maybe he should take this opportunity to escape, run before the ghost decided to get rid of him. But curiosity nagged at him. He felt hesitant to completely believe what Mr. Masters told him, but he couldn't help wondering how much of it was truth. Phantom didn't remember anything past the last year, but if this ghost was his "father," it might be worth it to try to reunite them. But if the ghost was lying, then for what purpose was it? Why would Mr. Masters want to deceive a human like this just to get at Phantom?

The ghost returned, carrying something in his arms. When he sat down in his seat again, he handed it across the table for Danny to take. After a moment of eying the book, Danny took it from the ghost. He pushed aside the plate and silverware then lay the book on the table before him. It had an old, worn leather cover that Danny ran his fingers over as the corner of his mouth twitched. The smell of leather would always remind him of his sister, who always seemed to have her nose in some book. He opened the book and found inside it were pages of photographs. The first pages showed various inventions with notes written out that Danny didn't understand, but he had a feeling that his parents would know immediately what they meant. He could only assume that this was evidence of Mr. Masters keeping record of his experiments in his attempts to create Phantom.

Danny gasped when he flipped the page to see a younger Mr. Masters holding a little bundle in his arms. The baby was swaddled in a white blanket that almost made him blend right into it with his very pale flesh and his wispy white hair. Danny brushed his fingers over the picture, almost not believing that he was staring at an image of Phantom as a baby. The look on Mr. Masters' face as he gazed down at the baby in his arms made it impossible to think that the ghost had zero feeling toward Phantom. That look screamed of his love and pride toward the baby, his happiness to have a child of his own, and Danny knew there was no way that Mr. Masters could have doctored the photograph. No one could fake that kind of emotion.

The rest of the photo album detailed the growth of Phantom from baby to teenager. Mr. Masters was featured in several of the pictures, interacting with Phantom who seemed to return that same familial affection that Danny could trace in photographs from his own family. There was no doubt that the two ghosts saw each other as father and son and cared for each other similarly. When he closed the photo album, Danny glanced across the table at Mr. Masters, who watched him in patient silence for him to finish.

"So," Danny said awkwardly with his hands resting atop the photo album, "you really are Phantom's dad."

"Yes." Mr. Masters nodded.

"Uh, then," Danny reached up to rub the back of his neck, "there's probably something I should tell-"

"I'm aware that you are in a relationship with Phantom."

Danny paled, his eyes feeling like they grew as wide as saucers as he stared at the ghost. "I think I see where Phantom gets his bluntness," he mumbled when he could speak again. "How," his brow furrowed, "exactly do you know that?"

"It was easy to find out once ghosts started whispering about it." Mr. Masters snorted. "It actually didn't take much effort at all, unlike trying to find a certain hero obsessed ghost that always seemed to be on the move. And if you're worried about it, I'm not angry nor will I tell you to stay away from Phantom." He wore a crooked smirk. "I think I shouldn't be surprised that my son was drawn to the child of Maddie and Jack."

"Well, this isn't awkward or anything." Danny glanced away, his gaze darting all about the room. "So," he frowned as he turned back to Mr. Masters, "what exactly is the deal with Phantom's hero obsession anyway?"

"I suppose that's in part my fault. When he was a child, I let him watch some of those shows featuring superheroes." Mr. Masters folded his arms as he leaned back in the chair. "He loved them. His eyes always lit up with excitement when they came on, and he always wanted to hear me read him bedtime stories that involved heroes. When I started training him to use his powers and how to fight, he always liked making it into a game where I was the villain and he was the hero trying to stop my evil schemes." He frowned, troubled red eyes falling onto Danny. "If he were to still see me as a villain, I don't think he would listen to me if I tried to explain things in his current condition."

"And you think I might have better luck?"

"You're important to him, and he trusts you."

Danny lowered his gaze as his mouth pulled downward. "I tried to talk to him about finding out about his past before, and he didn't seem interested. I wanted to respect him by not digging into his past. He may not like it if I present the truth to him."

"Understandable. I do appreciate that you consider and respect Phantom's feelings like that. You, however, didn't go behind his back to discover the truth though your own efforts. If you explain everything to him, perhaps he will understand."

Danny's brow wrinkled in worry. "But if he becomes angry when I tell him?" He felt sick at the thought of upsetting Phantom. "What if he doesn't believe it?"

"You can take the photo album. Perhaps he'll be more accepting of the truth if he looks at it. I know it's a long shot. I know there's a possibility that Phantom will never remember his past, or me. But," Mr. Masters frowned with pain in his eyes, "I'm his father. If there's any way to get my son back, I will try to find it."

Danny dropped his gaze to the photo album. "I'll try," he said after some internal debate, "but I can't promise anything."

"The fact that you are willing to try is good enough for me." Mr. Masters smiled, but this time it actually looked genuine, appreciating that Danny would try to help him. "I suppose we have talked long enough." In another dark flash, Mr. Masters returned to his human appearance then stood. "I should probably get you home now."

Blue eyes grew wide as it dawned on him. He got so wrapped up in the chaos of being attacked by the Guys in White and waking up in strange surroundings and finding out the truth about Phantom that it had slipped his mind. "Oh man!" Danny raked a hand through his raven locks. "I'm so late for school!"

"I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty this morning of contacting your high school and informing them that you would be out for the day because you were feeling a bit under the weather." Mr. Masters' gaze focused on the bandages wrapped around Danny's head, the only sign of his injuries that was visible at the moment. "It seemed best to allow you the chance to rest and recover after that encounter with the Guys in White."

Danny relaxed, slumping back against the chair. "That reminds me." He turned a frown onto the ghost in disguise. "How exactly did you manage to convince the Guys in White to let you take me with you? The last thing I remember was the guy that shot me in the side freaking out when he realized I was human."

Mr. Masters grinned toothily, and like that, Danny could believe the man would play the role of villain quite well. "Ghosts have this little ability of being able to overshadow people. Unfortunately, I arrived too late to have stopped him from shooting you." His brow knitted as though he was truly sorry for that. "While the agent was freaking out, I overshadowed him and went to find the other Guys in White. I told them that I saw the ghost fleeing out of town, and they bought it, hurrying to track down the ghost. After that, I simply brought you back here and immediately saw to your injuries."

"That seems like quite the handy little ability." Danny's eyebrows lifted in amazement. He hadn't seen any of the ghosts that he met so far using that ability. "And thank you. I really appreciate you keeping me out of the hands of the Guys in White. I'm sure my parents will appreciate it too." Danny rose to his feet, picking up the photo album, then paused. "Um, are you going to tell my parents what you are?"

Mr. Masters sighed heavily. "That is a confrontation I have been avoiding ever since the accident."

"If it helps, my parents have started to see that ghosts aren't all evil. In fact, Dad really likes Cujo. That ghost puppy from when we first met." Danny smiled encouragingly at the ghost.

"I think they will not be happy that I've kept this from them for so long."

"But they'll probably be happy that you finally came to tell them." Danny started to follow Mr. Masters toward the door of the room when he paused again. "Um, I know my clothes got ruined with the Guys in White shooting at me and all that. But what about my bag? And my camera?" He wore a hopeful expression that started to fall when Mr. Masters frowned.

"I'm afraid your camera is fairly well damaged beyond hope."

Mr. Masters walked over to a table by the door of the room where Danny's familiar bag sat. Next to it was the smashed and broken pieces of his camera. Danny's heart sank at the sight of it, feeling like he had just lost a good friend. He had that camera for a good long time, and now it was nothing but scraps.

"As it was my fault it got destroyed," Mr. Masters frowned at the broken camera, "I would like to buy you a new one. Any one you like. The cost is not important. I put you in harm's way, and I wish to make that up to you."

Danny walked over, his hands absently running over the pieces of his camera. He knew it was silly to feel like he was betraying his old camera by getting a new one, but he would need to buy another camera if he planned on keeping his job at the newspaper. He slowly picked up the pieces and placed them into his bag, like each piece was a precious treasure.

"I was wearing a coat," Danny said, turning a frown onto the ghost as he added the photo album to his bag.

"Ah!" Mr. Masters walked over the closet. "I almost forgot about that." He pulled out the large biker coat. "I thought it was a bit odd that you were wearing something that belonged to a ghost."

"I figured it was distinctive enough that the Guys in White would spot it and immediately assume I was the ghost and follow me so that Johnny and Kitty could get away. I should really make sure to return it." He took it from Mr. Masters throwing it over his bag before he slung the strap over his shoulder. With that, he followed Mr. Masters out of the room. His foot stung with each step, but it was a dulled pain.


	25. Chapter 25

Danny stared at his house after closing the door of the car behind him. The drive over, and Danny was surprised to find that Mr. Masters didn't have a personal driver, was silent, except for when Danny piped up to give the man directions to his house. He tossed a glance toward the silver haired man as he walked around the car. A hint of apprehension slipped onto his stern face as he eyed the house with dread. He didn't know Mr. Masters all that well, but the expression still seemed strange when the man had shown such airs of confidence previously.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Danny told him before he led the way up to the front door. He still walked with a limp, trying not to put too much weight on his injured foot for too long. When he reached the door, he unlocked it, stepping inside and holding the door open for Mr. Masters. The couch in the front room wasn't too far away, and Danny was looking forward to collapsing onto it and putting his foot up for a while.

Mr. Masters hesitated, but before Danny could make a teasing joke about being a vampire, the man entered the house on his own. His dark blue eyes surveyed the front hall, and Danny realized it must look fairly plain in comparison to the grandness of The Monarch.

"Danny!" his mother shouted, relief in her voice as she hurried down the hall the moment she spotted him. In seconds, he was engulfed within her arms, her strong arms that squeezed him tightly. "Jack!" she called. "Jack, he's home!" She pulled back from him, cupping her son's face in her hands as she stared at him with worried violet eyes. "Oh, Danny! What happened? You never came home last night. And," she frowned touching his forehead where his bandages were, "what happened to your head?" Her gaze drifted to the side as Mr. Masters closed the front door. She jerked back from her son, hands covering her mouth as she gasped, her eyes growing wide. "Vlad!"

"Did I hear you say Danny was home?" Jack came down the hall, wiping his greasy hands on an already dirty rag. Relief washed through his expression the moment his gaze landed upon Danny standing in front of his wife. He drew Danny to him with a grunt from his son. "You gave us such a fright, Danny boy!" He didn't let go of his son, and Danny awkwardly patted his father on the arm, glad at least that his father wasn't crushing him. His side did hurt some though, and he grimaced.

"J-Jack. Dear." His mother blindly reached out toward her husband, though her hand was far from actually grabbing at his arm to pull at the fabric of his orange jumpsuit.

"What is it, Maddie?" His father glanced at her before turning his gaze to see what caught his wife's attention. He was silent for a moment, his jaw slowly dropping in his shock. "V-man?"

"Jack," Mr. Masters said stiffly, "Maddie. I apologize that we're meeting again under these conditions."

His mother shook her head. "I don't understand. When did you get into town? Why didn't you contact us sooner?" She glanced toward her son, who was still trapped in his father's arms. "Did you bring Danny home?"

"Perhaps we should talk in the front room," Mr. Masters offered, gesturing to the room off the hall with one hand.

Danny was glad for the excuse to escape his father's hold as they all walked into the front room. He immediately dropped onto the couch and propped his injured foot on the coffee table, carefully resting it there. The adults joined him with his mother taking up a seat next to him on the couch. As he glanced among the three of them, Danny shifted awkwardly, realizing that this was the meeting of his parents with Phantom's father. He turned his gaze briefly to the ceiling as he wondered if the universe was simply out to kill him by embarrassment.

"I hope one of you is going to start explaining what exactly is going on," his mother said, her mouth pursing just slightly as her stern glare passed from Vlad to her son. "I especially want to know why you were out all night without so much as calling us and why you came home with your head bandaged." She folded her arms as one eyebrow arched at him, waiting on his answer.

"Um, well," Danny mumbled, scratching behind his ear.

"Perhaps I should explain," Mr. Masters said, casually leaning back in his seat. He was good at acting calm and collected, but Danny suspected he was a bit of a mess on the inside. Telling the truth to Danny's parents couldn't be an easy task for the man. "You see, I'm to blame for what happened to your son."

"What?" his father demanded, jumping up from his chair. "What did you do to our son?"

"Dad, just let him explain first," Danny begged, wondering how his parents would react after hearing about his encounter with the Guys in White.

Mr. Masters laced his fingers, resting his hands over his lap as he gazed at Danny's father. "I was at meetings in the Guys in White headquarters when I overheard in passing some of them mention that they were targeting two ghosts last night. I've met your son previously. He was at the benefit I hosted last Sunday evening to take photographs. He seemed to sympathize with ghosts that have no ill intent toward the living. I thought he might be able to help the ghosts, so I contacted him about going to the warehouses on the north end of town."

Danny noted that Mr. Masters was leaving out the fact that he lied, posing as Mr. Carmichael who was sending him out to take pictures at another story. He didn't call the man out on it though, deciding it was probably a detail his parents didn't actually need to know. "The Guys in White were already there attacking the ghosts," he explained, picking up where Mr. Masters left off, "and one of the ghosts was badly injured." Danny frowned, hoping that the pair managed to make it back to the portal in his parents' laboratory and into the Ghost Zone. "I had to do something to help them out. They were nice ghosts that hadn't done anything to anyone." Except Calvin that one time, but that was another detail that didn't need to be mentioned. "I couldn't leave them at the hands of the Guys in White. So I distracted the Guys in White while Johnny and Kitty escaped." He wrapped an arm around his waist, easily recalling the pain of having that last blast tear into his side. "It worked. Unfortunately, a little too well."

"I'm going to _hurt_ them," his mother said with a darkening glower upon her face. Her hands curled into tight fists, and after sparring against her, Danny was certain he didn't want to see how terrifying she could be in a fight when she was angry. He could almost imagine her leveling the Guys in White headquarter without even breaking a sweat.

"Mom," Danny reached over and took her hand, "I'm okay." A little beat up, but he was going to live, even if he had to suffer some aches and pains for a little while.

His father's mouth pursed and his eyes squinted as one eyebrow lifted. "So how exactly did you end up with our son? Don't get me wrong. I'm glad that you brought him home. Very glad. But I just want to know all the facts."

"Naturally." Mr. Masters nodded like an understanding parents. "You're concerned about your son. I can understand that. I had meetings I couldn't just leave, as much as I would have liked. You know how the Guys in White can be. I didn't want them casting suspicion on me."

After learning the truth about Mr. Masters, Danny could understand exactly why the man didn't want the Guys in White getting any ideas into their heads about him. If they ever learned that he was a ghost, Mr. Masters would be in great trouble. He wouldn't be able to continue living as he had as the man known as Vlad Masters.

"I got out of there as quickly as I could to aid your son." Mr. Masters frowned, lowering his gaze. "I didn't expect things to go as they did. Your son was badly hurt, but I acted swiftly to get him away from the Guys in White then treat his injuries. I apologize for not contacting you sooner about your son's condition and whereabouts."

His mother shot to her feet before any of them realized and stood in front of Mr. Masters. In the next instant, Mr. Masters was on the floor, holding a hand to his jaw after Danny's mother struck him hard with her fist. "Don't you dare _ever_ put my son at risk like that again," she said, her voice trembling with rage. His father held her by the arms as if holding her back from attacking the man again, but the anger on his own face suggested he might want to do the same, even if Mr. Masters was their old college buddy.

"Mom, Dad!" Danny sat up straighter, not willing to get onto his feet just yet as Mr. Masters climbed back to his feet, using the chair to help him. He kept a hand to his jaw, rotating it, and Danny could imagine how much he hurt after being punched by his mother. "It's not entirely his fault. Yes, he informed me about what the Guys in White were up to, but it was _my_ choice to do something to help Johnny and Kitty. I put myself in harm's way because it was the right thing to do. You can't pin all the blame on him just because my decision ended up getting me hurt. I would do the same again if it meant protecting the innocent."

His parents frowned at him with worry in their eyes. "It scares us when you come home injured, Danny," his mother said as his father nodded his agreement.

"I couldn't find anything."

The voice brought a smile to Danny's face, but he could see tension building within Mr. Masters' posture. It was clear from the brief flash of shock that he hadn't actually expected to encounter his son just yet. After their conversation that morning at The Monarch, Danny could understand why. Mr. Masters feared that while his son was suffering from amnesia, Phantom might view him as an enemy. Danny's hands curled around the edge of the couch cushion, worry thrumming through him. What would happen if Phantom saw his father here?

"I ran into Johnny and Kitty. They weren't looking so good. Kitty more than Johnny." Phantom turned into the front room and halted in the doorway. His green eyes widened a touch, seeming to glow extra bright. Then he shot across the room, and the speed gave Danny a fright. But the ghost stopped short and touched down lightly upon the floor. "Where have you been?" Phantom demanded with panic clear in his voice. "I've been searching everywhere for you since last night! I even went around asking all the ghosts I knew if they had seen you. I finally run into Johnny and Kitty, and they tell me you helped save them from the Guys in White. But they didn't know what happened to you after they fled for the Ghost Zone. I searched all over that area where they were haunting, but I couldn't find any sign of you." He fidgeted, uncertainty keeping him from acting as Danny suspected the ghost wanted to hug him.

Danny lowered his gaze, guilty twisting inside him. He didn't mean to make his parents or Phantom worry about him like this. Lifting his foot from the table, he gingerly set on the floor before climbing to his feet. The weight was uncomfortable, but he bore it as he wrapped his arms around the ghost in front of him. Phantom eagerly returned the hug, wrapping Danny in a chilly embrace.

"Sorry," Danny mumbled as he pressed his forehead against the ghost's shoulder. In the back his mind, he was very much aware of their parents being in the room and staring at them, and it was awkward. But he also didn't really care because last night, things got very real and scary for him when that third agent shot him in the side, he had worried his parents and his boyfriend, and all he wanted right then was to stay in Phantom's arms. "Next time I go off to save some ghosts, I'll contact you first." He frowned. "Well, first we need to figure out some way that I can contact you when I need to."

"I could whip something up," his father offered enthusiastically, and Danny laughed, rolling his eyes. He should have expected his father to jump on the opportunity to invent something.

"Vlad, where are you going?"

At his mother's question, Danny pulled away from Phantom to see Mr. Masters already at the front room's doorway on his way to the front door. Mr. Masters was clearly trying to sneak out of the house before Phantom noticed his presence. Danny held onto Phantom's arms, but the ghost turned away from him anyway, curiosity driving him to see to whom Danny's mother asked her question. Panic prickled at Danny's flesh as Phantom's gaze fell upon Mr. Masters. Something was about to happen, and he wasn't sure whether it was good or bad. Time froze in the moment as the lost family members stared at each other. Danny's hand caught the back of Phantom's jacket, curling the fabric in his grip as if he could hold the ghost back.

"You!" Phantom shouted as his fists at his sides glowed green with gathering energy.

"Phantom," Danny said cautiously, hoping he could reach the ghost.

"What are you doing here?" Phantom ignored Danny, but he had yet to initiate a fight.

"Phantom," Mr. Masters said, keeping his voice calm like he was talking to a ferocious animal about to strike, which the ghost sort of seemed like in the current situation. "I came here to help."

"Help?" Phantom shouted, and Danny winced at the rage in his voice. He tried to hold tight to the jacket, but intangibility made it easy for Phantom to escape his grasp. In a flash, Phantom was upon Mr. Masters. His arm drawn back, the glow around his fist intensifying with his growing fury. Danny's parents stood in stunned silence as they witnessed the ghost attacking their old college friend, the shock of the whole thing keeping them frozen in place. Phantom's fist descended, but Mr. Masters acted just as swiftly as his son. He transformed into his ghostly form in a dark flash. The glowing fist crashed against a hard plane of pink ectoplasm, keeping the younger ghost at bay.

"Vlad!"

"Vladdie!" His parents gazed on, shocked even further at the true appearance of their old friend. But the realization of what it meant dawned on them, the horror slowly seeping into their expressions. His mother's hands went to cover her mouth, and his father held onto her shoulders as if to steady them both.

"Phantom, stop!" Danny shouted, his eyes wide as he watched the ghosts in battle.

Phantom continued trying to land a hit upon his father, using energy balls and ecto rays. He raised his hands above his head, gathering a large amount of energy that he brought down on the older ghost. Mr. Masters didn't fight back. He blocked every attack that came his way. Mostly. Danny winced when he saw the rips in the otherwise pristine black suit and cape. He had a cut upon his cheek where pink blood welled up in beads before slipping down to his chin. He was stronger, and if he were fighting back, he would probably be winning. But Mr. Masters didn't want to hurt his son, who was lost in anger and confusion without all his memories.

"Jack, go get the - I don't know! Just get something," his mother ordered as one of Phantom's energy balls tore a hole into the hall wall.

Phantom charged up another attack, throwing a punch that Mr. Masters narrowly escaped. Something was different about it, unnerving Danny as Phantom prepared to unleash the attack. Danny moved, racing across the room. His foot screamed in agony, but he pushed past the pain. His mother shouted, and maybe Mr. Masters did too. Danny slammed into Phantom, tackling the ghostly hero to the floor as he released his built up energy. It scraped at his left cheek, washing it in coldness. Danny grimaced, his injured side pinching, as he pushed himself up to stared down at Phantom.

"Please," Danny begged, "stop this, Phantom."

His brow creased with anger as Phantom prepared to snap at him in response. Then green eyes grew wide with horror entering his gaze.


	26. Chapter 26

"Dan-" Phantom stared at him with utter horror, a look that Danny hadn't seen on the ghost before, as he started to reach out to the human. But he snatched his hand back, fingers curling as a painful grimace appeared upon his face.

Why he was acting this way, Danny wasn't sure. He was merely relieved that the ghost seemed to have calmed down from his rage at seeing Mr. Masters. A sigh escaped him as he bowed his head, a smile pulling at his mouth. Maybe now that Phantom wasn't in a fit of fury, Danny would be able to talk to him calmly about everything that Mr. Masters told him that morning over breakfast. Before he could even get started on an explanation, hands grabbed hold of his arms, yanking him back to his feet.

"I got the Thermos!" his father said, returning to the front room. "I don't know that it works though. We still haven't tested it out." He halted, looking around as Danny's mother twisted him around to face her. Danny tried to turn his head back around to see Phantom, but she stopped him, keeping him looking at her. "Oh my - What _happened_?"

The panic in his father's voice sent a thread of cold dread twisting about inside him. What was with everyone? Danny cast his gaze to the side, catching sight of Mr. Masters, who shared that worried panic of his parents.

"I didn't mean-" Phantom said in the desperation of someone trying hard to convince everyone else of what he was saying. "I just - I didn't-"

"It's okay, Phantom," Danny cut him off, his brow wrinkling with an odd stiffness. It was like that time he let Tucker convince him to wear that mud mask stuff he found in his parents' bathroom back in third grade. It was a weird blue color, and they treated it like war paint, but when the stuff dried, it made his skin feel weird whenever he moved his face.

"It's not okay!" his mother shouted, and Danny jumped at the anger and fear in her voice. Her hand touched his left cheek, but it was strange, numb almost. "I've never seen anything like this."

"Like," Danny swallowed, feeling a pinch of worry in his chest, "what?" He glanced around at the concern on everyone's faces, at the guilt in Phantom's eyes. What could have happened to make them all react like this?

"I think it best if we take him somewhere for examination," Mr. Masters suggested. "Hopefully, it's nothing, but until we take a closer look, we don't know how this may be affecting him."

"Someone tell me what is going on!" Danny shouted in frustration. They were treating him like he couldn't hear anything they said, and it was driving him crazy.

"I got this!" His father dug around in one of the pockets of his jumpsuit to retrieve a small mirror.

Danny wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was doing in there or how his father managed to hide anything in a skin tight spandex jumpsuit. When it was held out toward him, Danny took the mirror and held it up to his face. He gasped, nearly dropping the mirror in his surprise.

"What?" Danny reached up a shaking hand, tentatively brushing his finger over his left cheek. It was freezing to the touch with little swirls of frost in delicate patterns dancing over his flesh from jaw to forehead. The tips of his raven locks were frosted over, and when he touched his hair, the locks were stiff as if they were frozen in place. "I-" Danny looked up to his mother then his father. "What happened? What is this?" His hands squeezed around the small mirror as the panic flared through him. What if this icy look never went away? He couldn't go out in public with frost decorating his face like some weird tattoo.

"That's why we're going to take you down to the lab," his mother said gently, guiding him toward the kitchen. "We're going to give you a check and hopefully find out what exactly this is."

"And," his father added in a stern voice, "I think there's a lot of explaining that needs to be done here."

"Yes, of course," Mr. Masters agreed. "And if you would let me, I'd like to help with checking on your son's condition. I know quite a bit about ghosts and how your inventions work, as you probably remember."

"Oh, my bag!" Danny grabbed hold of the doorframe before his mother could guide him into the basement. "Don't forget the book!"

"Danny, you can worry about your homework later," his mother told him as they descended into the laboratory.

It looked much the same as the last time that he was down here, though at that time, he was much more concerned about Phantom's wellbeing. Danny swallowed as he was led to the table in the center of the laboratory and directed to sit on it. This time, it was his wellbeing that was in question. He lay down on the table, and staring up at the bright light overhead, nervousness crept through him, prickling at his flesh as if the frost was spreading from the left side of his face.

"Is this going to hurt?" Danny asked as he glanced between his parents, who stood over him.

"Our first goal is to check on your vitals," his father explained. "If this," he gestured to frost, "is somehow affecting the rest of you, it could lower your body temperature, which could put you in a very dangerous situation."

Danny gulped, swallowing hard as he gripped the sides of the table tightly. "May - Maybe it's better that you not explain." He clamped his eyes shut, deciding he didn't want to know about or see anything that his parents were going to do to him.

"If you're going to be antagonistic this whole time," Mr. Masters said as he entered the laboratory, "perhaps you should wait upstairs. You claim to care about young Daniel, but your actions could have caused a much more serious consequence. What if that attack had done more than simply glance the side of his face? What if that frost was spreading or turning to ice? You flew into a rage, and you put people's lives at risk."

"I didn't mean for that happen," Phantom snapped back, rage in his voice, but Danny thought he could still hear the guilt as the ghost spoke. "I would never intentionally cause harm to Danny."

"Intentionally, no, you wouldn't. I don't doubt you there. But you weren't of a rational mind just now, and that is what worries me."

Danny focused on their conversation. It distracted him from his parents poking and prodding at him, murmuring to each other about this and that in terms that Danny didn't understand.

"And what does it matter to you?" Phantom demanded, the rage spilling even more into his tone.

Danny prayed that his boyfriend would restrain himself enough to keep from attacking his father. "Phantom," he said cautiously, his left eye twitching when he felt a prod that hurt a bit more than the others, "why are you so eager to attack Mr. Masters?" Maybe if he could open the lines of conversation between them, they could calmly discuss everything.

"When I first woke up, I didn't have any clue what was going on," Phantom explained. "What I do remember is you," and Danny suspected that his boyfriend had turned on Mr. Masters with a glare as he pointed at the older ghost, "well, the other you, that is. But you were standing over me. And I was in some lab. And you had my blood on you. And you were holding up scalpels or some other sharp medical tools. You did something to me! You captured me, and you experimented on me."

"Vladdie, you didn't-" his father said, sounding shaken by the implications that his old college friend would do something horrible to Phantom.

"No," Mr. Masters shouted, "I wasn't the one that hurt him. It was the Guys in White! They hurt my son. They destabilized him." The pain in the older ghost's voice tore at Danny's heart. The events that happened had hurt Mr. Masters, who had finally found happiness and love with a son of his own. "I almost lost you. So I did what I could to keep you stable and alive, but after what happened, you didn't come through that experience with your memories intact."

"I'm supposed to believe you?" Phantom shouted. "After waking up in your lab, I'm supposed to just be all, 'Okay. I believe everything you say?' You didn't really buy this, did you, Danny?"

"You can sit up now," his mother told him.

Danny was relieved that his parents didn't have to do anything invasive. Sitting up, he opened his eyes to find Phantom's crossed expression glaring in his direction. Mr. Masters wore exhaustion upon his face as he remained in his ghost form. Danny released a sigh as he leaned forward, balancing his arms on his legs.

"Phantom, I think he's telling the truth," Danny explained, frowning at the disbelief on his boyfriend's face. "The Guys in White have shown that they have no concern for how badly they injury ghosts. In fact, I think they wouldn't be satisfied unless they pushed a ghost to the point of nonexistence, and if the ghosts suffer during it, all the better in their minds. They don't even take the time to examine whether the person they're chasing is in fact a ghost until it's too late. They hardly care about the casualties they might cause in their hunt to eliminate ghosts. I find it very believable that the Guys in White found and attacked you, causing serious injury."

Phantom frowned after that explanation. His green eyes darted toward Mr. Masters, and his brow furrowed. "Even if that is a believable possibility, how can you trust that he isn't just using that as a decent excuse to cover up his own terrible actions?"

"Vladdie, wouldn't do that!" his father argued, although Danny thought he heard a hint of misgiving. He thought perhaps it was due to how Mr. Masters' actions led to his son being harmed.

"I, for one," his mother said, holding a clipboard in her hands, as she sent a flat glare toward Mr. Masters, "would like an explanation to your current condition." Her mouth pursed, and her eyes held a calculating gleam. "The last we saw you was the day we tested the Proto Portal. After the accident, we didn't so much as hear from you. When your company became a big deal and we heard it had dealings with the Guys in White, we assumed that you perhaps signed the same sort of contract that we did, agreeing to keep silent about the work you did on ghosts and the paranormal. But that doesn't explain," she gestured at his appearance with the pen she held, "this?"

"The truth is that accident killed me." Mr. Masters paused at the horrified gasps from his friends. "I never told you about this because I thought if you knew the truth, that I was a ghost, you would hate me. I had become the thing we had worked to find ways to hunt down and experiment on. I didn't think you would be able to accept it. I was lucky I was able to hide behind the guise of still having a living appearance."

Danny glanced toward his parents, both wearing expressions of sadness and guilt. His father frowned deeply after hearing what happened to his friend.

"I wish we could say that we would have understood," his father said and lowered dark blue eyes. "But truth is, until recently, we probably would have thought you were an evil ghost taking the form of our dear friend for evil purposes." He dropped a hand onto his son's shoulder. "But Danny boy here managed to convince that there are good ghosts out there too."

"Your son is a remarkable person," Mr. Masters said, and Danny ducked his head, feeling a blush warm his cheeks.

His mother suddenly grabbed his chin, turning his head toward her. "I'll be!" She blinked. "The frost is starting to melt."

Danny reached up, touching his fingers to his left cheek. When he drew his hand back, the tips of his fingers were covered in wetness. "Maybe it was just a temporary thing," he said, glancing up at his parents. "You know, just needed some time before it could start melting."

His mother stood up straight, frowning as she crossed one around her waist and held her cheek with the other hand. She tilted her head with a thoughtful gaze. "Well, we found no signs that it caused any physical harm to you other than the frost pattern on the left side of your face and the bit of frost in your hair. I suppose it wasn't anything too serious."

"I," Phantom spoke up with a tremble in his voice. When they turned to him, Phantom had his head down, staring at his hands held out before him. "I still don't understand what happened there. I never had a power like that before."

Mr. Masters stepped over to him, but when he reached out, Phantom snapped his hands away. With a frown, disappointment in his red eyes, Mr. Masters lowered his own hands. "It was a new power. You were still learning control over it when the Guys in White attacked. I suspect that losing your memories may have suppressed the ability until you were driven to the point of calling it out unconsciously because of your rage. You still hadn't completely mastered it, still had trouble calling it out at will. Until you can control it, I think it best that you practice it in a safe environment where you aren't likely to hurt anyone." Mr. Masters turned to Danny, and guilt overcame Phantom's gaze. Even if he didn't believe the man to be his father or trust him, Phantom agreed with the caution given to him.

Danny hopped off the table and crossed the laboratory to where Phantom stood. "I'm not angry with you," he said and drew the ghost into his arms. Phantom merely leaned on him, like he was ready to collapse under his guilt. "It was an accident. It's okay."

"Well, I'm going to say at least a week of no dating," his father said sternly.

"Dad!" Danny protested, embarrassment burning across his face.

"No, I agree," Mr. Masters said. "That incident could have been far worse. Until Phantom gets his temper and power under better control, it would be wise for him to keep his distance."

Phantom pulled away from Danny and glared at the ghost before him. "Don't act like my father. As far as I know, you're just some creep."

"But, Phantom," Danny frowned, taking hold of the ghost's hand, "he _is_ your father. He has a whole photo album of pictures of you growing up."

Phantom stared in disbelief. "No," he shook his head in denial, "he can't. He must have faked them."

"Phantom," Danny said sternly, "I'm a photographer. I think I can tell when pictures have been doctored. These haven't been. And why would he lie to you about this? What does he have to gain?"

"An heir to his evil empire," Phantom muttered sarcastically.

"Oh, yes," Mr. Masters agreed, rolling his eyes. "I'm completely evil. Just ask all the ghosts I've crippled in my years as a ghost. Oh. Wait. There aren't any."

"Really, Vlad." His mother folded her arms with a shake of her head. "That is hardly proper parenting. You're bickering with him like _you're_ still a teenager."

A blush rose to Mr. Masters' cheeks, turning to his bluish skin a dark shade of pink. "My apologies."

Danny bit his lower lip to keep from laughing. "I think," he squeezed Phantom's hand, "you should take a look at that photo album. Maybe it'll spark some of your memories." Phantom looked doubtful but agreed.


	27. Chapter 27

Danny chewed on his lower lip as he peeked through the doorway into the front room. Mr. Masters and Phantom sat on the couch while Phantom flipped through the photo album. Danny didn't know how things were going as so far both ghosts remained silent. He worried. Everything was calm for the moment, but he could see that Phantom didn't quite trust the ghost claiming to be his father. He fidgeted, waiting to see if another explosion would occur.

"Danny," his mother said sternly, and Danny tensed, "you should leave them alone. Give them some space to work this out."

Danny turned a frown onto his mother, who was busy working making dinner for everyone. His father sat at the kitchen table, fiddling with something that he brought up from the laboratory. "I know," Danny said with a sigh as he turned his gaze back to the front room. "I just don't want this to go badly." He rubbed a hand against his left cheek as if he could still feel the frost swirled over his flesh.

"I think I remember this," Phantom mumbled, pointing to a picture in the photo album.

Mr. Masters leaned over to see which one Phantom meant. "Ah, right. I got you that ghost pony for your tenth birthday. You really loved her. You named her Frost Steed."

"Frost Steed?" Phantom snorted. "What a lame name." He paused, lifting his head with a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "I... would come up with a lame name like that though, wouldn't I?"

Mr. Masters shrugged. "You were ten and very insistent, not to mention stubborn, about the name. You had a lot of fun riding her around the Ghost Zone."

Phantom blinked a few times before he turned his confused gaze to Mr. Masters. "I had been to the Ghost Zone before? I didn't remember it until Spectra took me there to save me from the Guys in White."

"Well, you did forget about everything prior to waking up in my lab after I tried to stabilize you. I'm not surprised that you wouldn't remember your previous trips into the Ghost Zone or that the Ghost Zone even existed. But I'm glad you encountered other ghosts that looked out for you." Mr. Masters stared at the ghost sitting beside him. "I don't expect things to magically fix themselves here. I don't expect you to look at some photographs and suddenly remember everything and have everything be the way it was. I don't expect you to suddenly look at me like your father again. Maybe you will never regain your memories. But maybe you will at least give us a chance to make new memories."

"It's weird." Phantom reached up and rubbed at his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I remember some of this stuff. But it's all fragmented and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And a lot of the pictures, I can't remember anything about them."

Mr. Masters reached over and rested a hand on Phantom's shoulder. "Don't force it. You don't have to force yourself to remember anything. The only thing that can help is time and letting the memories surface on their own."

Phantom nodded, dropping his gaze back to the photo album as his hand ran over the pictures. "Can I keep this? You know, just for a while. Maybe it'll help. Maybe I should take up Spectra's offer and talk with her. She could maybe help to unlock my memories."

"Keep it for as long as you like. And if you need a place to stay," Mr. Masters dropped his hand away from Phantom's shoulder, "but I suppose if you've been living on your own for a year, you probably have a place of your own by now."

Phantom frowned as he glanced toward the other ghost. "After Spectra brought me into the Ghost Zone, I picked up a few things from other ghosts and started creating a lair of my own. Maybe," he shrugged, "I could show it to you later."

"I would like that very much." Mr. Masters smiled warmly at his son.

Danny had to smile as he turned away from the front room. Maybe things weren't completely fixed between the two ghosts, but at least they were beginning to mend things between them. He walked over to join his father at the table. "So," Danny said, watching as his father screwed another piece into place, "I was thinking since you and Mom like inventing things-"

"Sure do!" His father grinned widely and held up the device in his hand, which didn't look like much of anything so far. "Just give me a few hours, and I should have something ready so you and Phantom can keep in touch. But," he gave his son a stern stare, "this isn't an excuse for the two of you to do nothing but chat with each other all day long."

"I know that, Dad." But Danny couldn't help the small blush that crossed his cheeks. If they could call each other up, it would be tempting to at least talk with Phantom at night, if only to say good night and make sure he hadn't gotten into any serious trouble during the day. Remembering the night Phantom turned up at his house bleeding and badly wounded still made Danny's chest hurt, and he hated that the image remained burned into his memory. "But that wasn't what I was going to talk about. I was thinking. Since it'll take forever for me to save up money for a car or something, maybe we could build something together. It would be a fun project to do on the side." He gave his father a hopeful look.

His father's dark blue eyes lit up with excitement. "Oh! I have some great ideas! How do you feel about flame-"

"Jack," his mother stopped him, twisting around to give him a deadly glare. "You are not outfitting our son's car, or anything else, with dangerous weapons. You will build something sensible."

His father leaned over and whispered quietly, "We can add a few special features if you like." He placed a finger to his grinning lips and winked.

Danny doubted he would need any of his father's "special features," but he was glad that his father was excited about building something for him. He glanced toward his mother, who stood at the stove, stirring the sauce for the spaghetti. She picked up a spoon and dipped it into the sauce then brought it up, blew on it, and tasted it. With a nod, she set the spoon aside on the counter.

"If Phantom and Mr. Masters are staying for dinner, what are they going to eat?" Danny asked curiously with a lift of his eyebrows. "Can ghosts even eat real food?"

His mother paused then turned her gaze onto him. "You know, I hadn't thought about that," she admitted and frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose we could see if there are any suitable samples of ectoplasm for them in the lab. Or I suppose they could always take a trip into the Ghost Zone and see if they can round up something to eat then return and join us."

"Even if we have nothing to eat, we'd be happy to join you for dinner," Mr. Masters announced from the doorway where he and Phantom stood.

"It's still so strange to see you like that," his mother admitted, for Mr. Masters remained in his ghostly appearance.

"Would you prefer this instead?" Mr. Masters returned to his human appearance in a dark flash. He reached up and smoothed his silver hair then straightened his suit.

"Vladdie!" His father got up, walking over to the older ghost and patting him the back. Mr. Masters didn't look too pleased with the jostling, but he kept his mouth shut about it. "We should exchange notes sometime. It'll be like the old days. Back in college. Late nights tinkering with new inventions. It'll be great!"

"Yes, just like the old days," Mr. Masters agreed and winced as his old college friend squeezed an arm around his shoulders, squashing him into the larger man's side.

When the doorbell rang, Danny popped up from his seat. "I'll get it!" He exited the kitchen, heading for the front door as Phantom walked with him.

"Are you certain that everything is okay between us?" Phantom questioned quietly with worry still in his green eyes.

Smiling, Danny reached over to take the ghost's hand, giving it a squeeze. "It's okay. Really. It was only an accident. I know you never would have done something to hurt me if you were in your right mind. I'm just glad you're working out things with your father."

"It's still strange to think that I have a father," Phantom admitted as they neared the front door.

"And now that you have him again, you should try your best to reconnect with him." Danny opened the front door and was nearly tackled to the ground by his two friends as soon as they saw him.

"What happened?" Sam questioned, panic and worry in her voice.

"Yeah, man!" Tucker said as they almost choked the life out of him with their tight embraces. "We were worried when you didn't turn up for school today. The teachers would only tell us that you were under the weather."

"Ah, yeah," Danny said awkwardly, and after a moment, his friends finally released him and stepped back. "Well, lots of stuff happened after we left the Nasty Burger." He closed the door after them then led them into the front room. Before he could sit down, Phantom's arms wrapped around him from behind, and the ghost held him tightly.

"That's just another reason for us to have a way to contact each other," Phantom said, wearing a concerned frown. "If you had called me right away, I would have come to help you."

"Wait. So what exactly happened?" Sam questioned with her brow knitting.

"Oh! Your friends are here. Will they be staying for dinner?" his mother asked after glancing into the front room.

"We're having spaghetti," Danny told his friends. "You really don't have to stay if you don't want to."

"Does the sauce have meat in it?" Sam asked his mother.

"It does." His mother winced, recalling that Sam didn't eat any meat. "But I can make something vegetarian for you."

"I can help if you like," Sam offered. "But first I want to hear about what happened last night."

"Well, quick version is that Johnny and Kitty were attacked by the Guys in White. I played decoy so they could get away, but I suffered some injuries so I spent the day recovering." Danny realized that was a very short and edited version of what happened, but he didn't feel like going into full detail about the whole incident.

"Next time you want to play hero, Danny," Sam said with a firm glare, "you call me and Tuck. We could have helped."

"I'll remember that for next time." Danny chuckled. "Okay. But let's go to the kitchen. I think dinner's nearly ready, and I'm starving." He had a brief lunch with his parents while Phantom and Mr. Masters looked at the photo album together, but that was hours ago and his hunger had returned. His friends and Phantom followed him into the kitchen where the aroma of the spaghetti sauce made Danny's mouth water with anticipation of dinner.

 

"Are we really doing this again?" Phantom asked, folding his arms as he floated before the ghost that looked like some crazy robot with a flaming green Mohawk. "Haven't I beaten you enough times already?" Several months had passed since he discovered his ice powers, which after gaining some control became rather useful. He smirked as the ghost struggled to break free of the ice encasing his body below the neck.

"I am Skulker!" shouted the ghost in a rage. He was the same ghost that attacked when Phantom and Danny had their date on the hill in the park with the tree, which was reduced to ashes during that attack. Neither Danny nor Phantom could forget him after that night, but with some training from Mr. Masters, Phantom got stronger, better able to combat against the explosive attacks of the robotic ghost. "The Ghost Zone's greatest hunter. I will not fail to collect my prey!"

Phantom tilted his head, scratching at the side with confusion. "Uh, why hunt me? I still haven't figured that out."

"I only go after what is unique. What's more unique than an artificially created ghost?" The ice cracked, and Skulker threw up his arms as the ice shattered, sending out pellets of ice flying through the air.

Phantom immediately shifted to intangible, and the ice passed right through him. Skulker shot toward him, but Phantom dodged out of the way, ducking under his punch. "Hey," Phantom said, touching a hand to his ear, "you about ready there?"

"Yeah," Danny said as he closed one eye and stared through the scope, locking onto the robotic ghost's location. "Just get clear of the area. I don't want to hit you too."

"Roger." Phantom swerved, but in his distraction, he allowed Skulker to get too close to him. The fist just barely reached to his abdomen with a small sliver of a space between fist and gut. Then Skulker's metal fist fired from his arm. It slammed into Phantom, forcing out a grunt as the ghost plummeted toward the street below them.

Danny gritted his teeth, anger flaring through him. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and breathed in deeply. After a slow exhale, he opened his eyes and focused on his task. The hunter was laughing at his success on landing the hit on Phantom, but that was just as well in Danny's opinion. He lined up the crosshairs with the ghost then squeezed the trigger. The recoil no longer caught him by surprise like it did the first time his parents tried to show him how to fire the rifle. His first attempts were terrible, sloppy, barely even came close to hitting the target. Now he was an excellent marksman, which made his parents proud.

The shot hit Skulker in the chest, just where Danny aimed, and the disc stuck to his metal chest. The ghost tugged at it, trying to rip it free, but a burst of electricity exploded from the disc. The hunter's robotic suit seized up, losing the ability to maintain flight, and fell like a rock toward the street.

Danny got up from where he lay, slinging his rifle onto his back, then he raced toward the fire escape on the building. He scrambled down the metal ladder quickly, reaching the ground in a matter of minutes. By the time he jogged into the middle of the street, Phantom already had the Thermos that his father helped Danny's parents perfect in his hands and aimed at the hunter. Danny slowed, catching his breath, as he walked over to stand next to his boyfriend.

"I forgot to introduce you to my partner, didn't I?" Phantom's mouth quirked into a small smirk. "Well, whatever. Have fun being cramped in a small space for a few hours." He pressed the button, and a stream of white light shot from the end. Skulker shouted in frustration, unable to get his suit working again before he was sucked into the Thermos. Phantom slapped the cap onto it afterward with a satisfied smile. "Good shot," he said, turning his attention onto Danny.

"It was nothing." Danny shrugged with a small blush, but he frowned as he dropped his gaze to Phantom stomach where there was some evidence of the rocket powered fist scorching his clothing. "Sorry I didn't act quickly enough."

Phantom shook his head as he attached the Thermos to his waist. "It wasn't anything serious. And I allowed myself to be distracted." He stepped in closer, cupping Danny's face. "I was worried about this arrangement when you suggested it." He frowned, his thumb brushing over his boyfriend's left cheek, and Danny shivered as light pattern of frost appeared briefly upon his face. "But I'm glad. I couldn't ask for a better partner to watch my back."

Danny tilted his head forward, pressing their foreheads together. "I'm just happy I can help you fight against troublesome ghosts."

"Thank you," Phantom said softly before he leaned forward and captured Danny's mouth in a gentle kiss. "For everything. I don't know where I would be right now without you. I'm lucky to have met you." His memories were still a scattered mess of fragments, but he was learning to deal with them when new ones surfaced. His relationship with Mr. Masters - it was still weird for Danny to think of calling him Vlad - was improving each day.

Danny blushed as his head shook. "I should be the one saying I'm lucky. I couldn't have dreamed of having such an amazing boyfriend." He wrapped his arms around Phantom's neck, drawing the ghost closer as he pressed their mouths together in a deeper kiss. Despite all the craziness that came with helping a superhero boyfriend fight criminals and violent ghosts, Danny couldn't be happier with his life. "Come on," he said, taking hold of Phantom's hand. "Let's go home."


End file.
